Caitlin Clark’s hopes of going to the Olympics this summer appear to have faded. Diana Taurasi appeared in a promotional video for Team USA on Thursday.
Taurasi, who is making her sixth appearance at the Paris Olympics, recently missed three games for the Phoenix Mercury with a leg injury, which could open the door for Clark, the Team USA reserve, to take her place.
However, Taurasi (who also missed a game on July 1 due to back pain) returned to the Mercury lineup on July 14, posing smiling from Team USA’s training camp with an American flag over her shoulders.
‘On the threshold of Olympic history. The [GOAT] chases a historic sixth gold medal,’ the USA Basketball X Account captioned a video of her, confirming her inclusion in the final selection.
In another post, 42-year-old Taurasi was seen training for her team at the Olympics.
Diana Taurasi took part in a photoshoot in the US on Thursday following her recent injury
Caitlin Clark’s Olympic hopes appear dashed as Taurasi looks ready
Clark was controversially cut from the squad in June when the selection was announced.
Although Team USA never officially announced that Clark would replace Taurasi if he were not fit for Paris, the two players play the same position. Clark has been a hit in the WNBA lately.
The Indiana Fever rookie has already set a franchise record this season with 213 assists (in just 26 games) and also set a single-game rookie record with 19 dimes on Wednesday against the Dallas Wings.
She averages 17.1 points, 8.2 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game and is playing in the WNBA All-Star Game this weekend.
That’s a big difference from the “transition period” the No. 1 pick would go through in the pros, according to Taurasi.
Taurasi was photographed training as Team USA prepares for the Olympic Games in Paris
Before Clark played with Iowa in the national championship game, Taurasi told Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter, “Reality is setting in, this has its limits.”
‘And that’s just life, we’ve all been there… You look superhuman when you’re playing against a group of 18-year-olds, but you go… [play] with a number of adult women who have been playing professional basketball for a long time.
“I’m not saying it won’t translate, because if you’re good at what you do, you’ll just get better,” Taurasi added. “But there’s going to be a transition period, where you have to give yourself some grace as a rookie.”
Clark had some rough patches early in the season, with the Fever playing nine games in 16 days to open their season. However, the former Iowa star has adjusted to life in the WNBA almost seamlessly.
Her play has helped Fever sit at a respectable 11-15 season mark after starting 2-9.