The Indiana Fever star wasn’t going to attend the Summer Olympics but a spot just opened up for her.
As the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris fast approach, it was believed that Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark wasn’t going to attend the tournament representing the United States of America.
Given that she has only been a professional for a few months, Caitlin Clark was not supposed to be part of the team that will be part of the women’s USA 3×3 olympic basketball competition.
Ironically, another rookie’s injury was the reason Caitlin Clark may have a chance to be part of the squad but there need to be some adjustments to the overall roster. If the team makes the right moves in order to replace that other rookie, there is a high probability that Clark will be called up for the Olympics.
The other rookie that may open a spot for Caitlin Clark
The 3×3 Olympic roster took a massive hit earlier in the month after Los Angeles Sparks’ Cameron Brink suffered a season-ending ACL injury. She was the tallest playr in the roster and that leaves a giant gap in the squad.
If Team USA tries to replace Brink, adding a new guard will make four of them for the squad and Caitlin Clark seems like the most logical choice. The three guards that still remain are Atlanta Dream’s Rhyne Howard, Hailey Van Lith from the TCU Horned Frogs, and Cierra Burdick, who has been of the 3×3 squad in previous tournaments.
As far as the playing time goes, Caitlin Clark first needs to be selected to the squad but there is another injury Howard suffered just a day after Brink and is also questionable. She was recently spotted walking on a boot and using a scooter in order to move around.
With those two injuries, the spot is more than open for Clark because of how similar her playstyle is to Howard’s. A little over a month away from the Olympics, the first game for Team USA’s 3×3 will be on July 30 against Germany. Considering Howard may not make it, Team USA needs to find her replacement ASAP.
