Caitlin Clark did not make the USA Basketball roster for the Olympics. But, she's not even the biggest snub. Arike Ogunbowale is and here's why. (2024)

DALLAS — Caitlin Clark did not make USA Basketball's Olympics roster.

Shocking to hear, right?

The WNBA rookie sensation has been the center of numerous national discussions in the last few years, so one would almost expect her to be a shoo-in. Welcome to the world of national team snubs for those of you new to the game.

What's even crazier is Clark isn't even the biggest snub from this roster.Dallas Wingsguard Arike Ogunbowale is and here's why. First let's start by establishing whodid make the team. Here is the roster – first reported by The Athletic and confirmed by the Associated Press via anonymous sources:

Taurasi, 42, makes her sixth Olympics roster of her career, which will break the record for most Olympics played in the sport of basketball. Alyssa Thomas, Sabrina Ionescu and Kahleah Copper are all making their Olympic debuts after helping USA win the FIBA World Cup in 2022.

When you look at the form all of these players are in, it's clear that Clark isn't the biggest snub from this roster and Ogunbowale is.

Ogunbowale is second in the WNBA in scoring (26.6), behind only Wilson (28.0). Clark is 13th in the WNBA in scoring (16.8), trailing eight of the players who made Team USA.

Clark's passing stats are more favorable, coming fourth in the WNBA in assists per game (6.3), which only trails Thomas and Young. Ogunbowale is 10th in the league with five assists per game.

Ogunbowale leads the WNBA by a respectable margin in steals per game with 3.1 (the second-highest is 2.5). Ogunbowale is also top 10 in efficiency rating, while Clark ranks 22nd in the league.

The reality remains, however, that Ogunbowale or Clark would need to boot someone else off the list of 12 players above. The only players, statistically, that would make sense to boot from the team in favor of Ogunbowale or Clark would be Taurasi (15th in scoring, 78th in assists) or Ionescu (12th in scoring, 8th in assists). Taurasi's storyline and cemented "G.O.A.T." status won't allow that.

An ailing 31-year-old Chelsea Gray, who has still yet to come back from a left foot injury in the WNBA Finals last season could have been another option.

With the way Ogunbowale has played not only this season, but as a top-five scorer in the WNBA every year she's been in the league since 2019 (with a scoring title in 2020), she's established herself as arguably the best guard in the league in the past few years.

There's an argument to be made that Ogunbowale is more deserving of the opportunity than any of the guards on this roster.

What Clark would bring to the national team, obviously, is more eyeballs to TV screens than arguably any other player. Five of the top six most-viewed WNBA games have been featured with Clark's Indiana Fever. The 2024 WNBA Draft was its most-viewed in league history. Clark and her alma mater, Iowa, also broke viewership records during their run in the NCAA women's March Madness.

But alas, neither Ogunbowale nor Clark will be headed to Paris with Team USA.

The U.S. women have won every gold medal in women's basketball since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

The U.S. team will get together to train for a few days in Phoenix in July. Then its off to London for an exhibition game against Germany before heading to France.

The Americans will play Japan, Belgium and Germany in pool play at the Olympics.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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