The WNBA is on hiatus for the next couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean there isn't thrilling women's basketball to watch. On Friday, Team USA's campaign for a fifth consecutive -- and 12th overall -- gold medal at the FIBA World Cup will tip off in Berlin, Germany. Ther Americans will be led by notable names like Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Caitlin Clark and Jackie Young.
Sixteen teams will compete in the preliminary rounds, which will last from Sept. 4-7. Team USA is in a group with China, Italy and Czechia, and those teams are facing an uphill climb to advance; the Americans are currently riding a 30-game winning streak at the World Cup, having last lost on Sept. 21, 2006, when Russia defeated them 75-68 in the semifinals. But while Team USA is favored to win the title, their path to gold isn't expected to be a cakewalk, especially given they're playing without A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum, who withdrew from the tournament for health reasons.
The French team, which is loaded with WNBA stars, will be particularly eager to get another shot at Team USA if the two meet in the knockout rounds; France nearly got the upset in the championship game at the 2024 Paris Olympics. "The world is improving and has continued to improve, and there's more depth to the teams at the World Cup now," head coach Kara Lawson said this week. "I think the depth of these rosters is really strong.
I think it's going to be the most difficult World Cup to win that we've had because of that. You should want it to be difficult." Here's how to follow Team USA's quest for gold: Wilson was Team USA's leading scorer at the Olympics, so losing her for this tournament will create a void. However, if any team has the talent to fill it, it is this squad.
Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier are both playing some of the best basketball of their careers -- which is really saying something -- and should provide steadiness and experience in the frontcourt and in the locker room. But overall, this is a very young and fresh Team USA. There are seven players competing in their first major tournament for the national team and nine players competing in their first World Cup.
Two of those newcomers are Washington Mystics players Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, who were the replacement players called up after Wilson and Plum withdrew. However, most of the attention will be on four high-profile players who many view as the future (and present?) of USA Basketball -- Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Aliyah Boston and Angel Reese. Lawson has yet to announce her starting lineup for the first game, but CBS Sports' Jack Maloney predicts that she might initially give the starting point guard spot to veteran Chelsea Gray, because of her experience on the world stage.
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