Team USA's quest for a fifth consecutive FIBA World Cup gold medal was dealt a blow Monday when the federation announced that A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum would miss the tournament due to health concerns. They have been replaced by Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron. Wilson has not missed a WNBA game in weeks, and no specific reason has been stated for her absence, which is likely related to fatigue.
Plum, on the other hand, has only played once since Aug. 9 due to a lower leg injury that has hampered her all summer, and the Phoenix Mercury subsequently announced she will not play again this season. The former Las Vegas Aces teammates have been stalwarts for the Americans in recent years. Wilson was the team's leading scorer at the 2024 Olympics, 2022 World Cup and 2020 Olympics, and has helped Team USA win gold at every major tournament since the 2018 World Cup.
Plum, meanwhile, was the second-leading scorer at the 2022 World Cup, and was a part of the 2018 World Cup, 2022 World Cup and 2024 Olympic teams. (She missed the 2020 Olympics due to a torn Achilles.) Team USA still has the most talented roster and should win gold in Berlin, but the task will be more difficult without Wilson and Plum. Their absences also raise further questions about the Americans' starting lineup, which was already going to be a tough decision for head coach Kara Lawson. Ahead of Team USA's opener against China on Friday in Berlin, let's try to predict the starting lineup.
Stewart is the most decorated American player on the team. She's helped Team USA win gold at every major tournament since the 2014 World Cup in Turkey when she was still a sophomore at UConn. She was the second-leading scorer behind Wilson at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and is in the middle of another All-WNBA caliber season for the New York Liberty.
As long as Stewart is wearing the red, white and blue, she's going to be a starter. Collier missed the first two months of the WNBA season after undergoing offseason surgery on both ankles, but she's fully healthy now and has picked up right where she left off when she finished as the MVP runner-up last season. She started every game at the 2024 Olympics, and was the Americans' second-leading rebounder behind Wilson.
Collier was going to start no matter what, but her versatility in the frontcourt will be even more important without Wilson. Young does not have the same international experience as Stewart or Collier. In fact, the 2024 Olympics were her major tournament debut at the 5x5 level. (She won a gold medal in 3x3 at the 202 Olympics.) But Young was inserted into the starting lineup for the knockout round games in Paris and is the best wing on the American roster.
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