COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (June 11, 2024)—USA Basketball today named Las Vegas Aces Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young to the 2024 USA Basketball Women’s National Team which will compete at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, set for July 26 to August 11, 2024.
It is the second trip to the Olympics for each of the Aces all-stars, as all four were members of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team. Gray and Wilson both won gold medals playing traditional, five-on-five basketball, while Plum and Young did likewise for the inaugural U.S. Olympic 3×3 Basketball Team.
The quartet of Aces are joined by Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury), Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury), Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty), Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm), Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury), and Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun).
The squad has a combined 15 Olympic gold medals, 18 FIBA World Cup titles and 55 WNBA All-Star appearances. The team also boasts eight WNBA champions, three WNBA MVPs and five WNBA Rookies of the Year. For just the second time in history of the USA Basketball Women’s National Team program, every member of the U.S. Olympic Team has either an Olympic or World Cup gold medal (2012).
Taurasi, who is a five-time Olympian and making her record sixth appearance at the Olympics, has played more games than any other women’s player in USA Basketball Olympic history (38) and is second in points scored (414), trailing only Lisa Leslie (488).
Collier, Gray, Griner, Loyd, Stewart, Taurasi and Wilson all return to the 2024 squad after a 6-0 run toward a gold medal in Tokyo at the 2020 Olympic Games. That year, Wilson and Griner led the team with 16.5 points per game, with Stewart leading the team with 10.0 rebounds per game, while also contributing 15.0 points per game. Griner and Stewart, along with Taurasi, won gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Plum and Young were part of a team that went 8-1 en route to claiming the first Olympic 3×3 gold medal.
Copper, Gray, Ionescu, Loyd, Plum, Stewart, Thomas and Wilson were all members of the 2022 USA World Cup Team, which captured its 11th World Cup gold medal in Sydney. Wilson earned World Cup M’VP honors, and the 2022 gold medal also qualified the USA for the Paris Olympics.
The team was selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Committee and approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors. The committee includes Jen Rizzotti (Connecticut Sun), Dawn Staley (University of South Carolina), Bethany Donaphin (WNBA) and Dan Padover (Atlanta Dream), as well as athlete representatives Seimone Augustus and DeLisha Milton-Jones, both of whom won multiple Olympic gold medals.
USA Women’s National Team head coach Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota Lynx) will be assisted by Kara Lawson (Duke University), Joni Taylor (Texas A&M University) and Mike Thibault (Washington Mystics). The coaching staff, who together led the USA to a gold medal at the 2022 FIBA World Cup, was selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Committee.
Additionally, Curt Miller (Los Angeles Sparks) and Tanisha Wright (Atlanta Dream) will be supporting the team as scouts. Both Miller and Wright have been past court coaches for the USA Women’s National Team training camps, and Miller was an assistant coach at the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament and for the USA’s college exhibition wins last fall.
The USA women will hold training camp in Phoenix before competing against the WNBA All-Stars in the league’s All-Star Game on Saturday, July 20 at 5:30 pm PT (ABC). The team will then travel to London to play Germany at O2 Arena on July 23 as part of the 2024 USA Basketball Showcase.
The USA women are seeking their eighth straight, and 10th overall, Olympic gold medal.
The American women open group play against Japan on July 29 (12 pm PT), followed by Belgium on August 1 (12 pm) and Germany on August 4 (8:15 am). The U.S. has a combined 29-2 overall record against its Group C opponents in international competition. This is the second straight Olympics the USA is grouped with Japan and marks the first time the U.S. will face Belgium and Germany at the Games.