CAITLIN Clark will have to wait until after the WNBA season starts to see if she’s headed for a summer in Paris.
The basketball phenom, 22, could be one of the biggest stars at the Olympics this summer if she’s selected to the USA women’s team.
2
USA Basketball has already announced a star-studded men’s roster including LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
But the women’s team has yet to be announced, and chief executive Jim Tooley revealed the timeframe.
“We will look to select a team in June, “he told The Sun.
“The committee meets on a regular-basis to kind of assess where we stand with the team.
“We have had a number of training camps over the years to try and identify and narrow down our pool.
“But we’re looking at June before we make an announcement is my guess.
“I don’t want to say one way or the other because we really don’t want to pinpoint, we want to see what happens over the next couple of weeks.”
That means the WNBA season will likely tipoff before a USA roster is announced.
The new campaign begins May 14, giving the likes of Clark an opportunity to catch the eye of the committee.
This year’s WNBA will feature a month-long break for the Olympics, which begin in Paris on July 26.
USA’s women will take on Germany at London’s O2 Arena on July 23 to complete their preparations.
And Tooley wants to help women’s basketball to have a global boom the way it has in the United States this year.
“London will be enormous preparation games – one last game for the women, two last games for the men.
“Really, we’re just fine-tuning things before we get to France and the competition starts on July 26.
“Women’s basketball has been on an upwards trend for the last few years in the United States – we hope that catches fire worldwide.
“Bringing our women’s national team to play Germany at The O2 on July 23 is kind of an extension of that excitement.
“We’re excited to be there and really looking forward to growing the game.
“We’re really excited about the men’s team we’ve announced.
“We also have our 3×3 teams – so we’re excited to have a chance to compete for four medals in Paris.”
Tickets to the The USA Basketball Women’s Showcase at the O2 Arena are available to buy at ticketek.co.uk