This year, Team USA is on a quest for its eighth consecutive gold medal. That’s why the talent on the American roster is challenged every now and then. To keep up with that, Team USA, led by A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, is silencing doubters with on-court results. Right from their opening game against Japan, both Wilson and Stewart dominated with a combined 46 points. With an impressive 21-31 shooting, the duo managed to grab 21 rebounds. Impressive, right? Not really!
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No doubt, both Wilson and Stewart are excelling at the Olympics. But the problem is that they are the only ones visible on the court despite having an Olympian-majority roster. On August 3rd, StatMamba penned on X, “A’ja Wilson & Breanna Stewart are responsible for 60% of Team USA’s points in the Olympics.”
A'ja Wilson & Breanna Stewart are responsible for 60% of Team USA’s points in the Olympics. pic.twitter.com/CMVuAHOASH
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) August 2, 2024
Even in the last game against the Belgian Cats, Wilson and Stewart contributed a combined 49 points. This means nearly 56% of the team’s total of 87-74 was scored by Stewart and Wilson. It may look good at one point, but the bitter truth is they are turning out to be Team USA’s weakness. In fact, it seems Team USA is relying too much on the combination of Aces and Liberty stars.
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“The A’ja & Stewie frontcourt is unfair,” wrote UConn standout Paige Bueckers in reference to the WNBA MVPs. Well, Bueckers was among the first to notice it. For context, Japan’s tallest player was 6’1, whereas Wilson stands 6’5 tall, and Stewart features a 6’4 frame. This means if the production from Wilson and Stewart wasn’t enough, Team USA got points from everyone else. But this theory is limited to the Japan matchup.
Team USA’s over-reliance on “A’ja and Stewie”
When it comes to the 57th Olympic play, the Belgian Cats gave tough competition. Earlier in the game, American defenders seemed slow on rotation, leaving enough room for shooters like Julie Vanloo. Even Emma Meesseman took advantage by accumulating 24 impressive points for Belgium. In fact, Antonia Delaere wasn’t bad either. She led some big shots in the fourth quarter and finished with 16 points.
But the question here is: What is everyone else on Team USA doing? There are a few names that made a little impact in the last games. In the game versus Japan, Chelsea Gray chipped in with an impressive 13 assists to keep the ball moving. On the other hand, Alyssa Thomas and Jewell Loyd contributed eight points each to outscore Belgium.
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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 01: Breanna Stewart, Kelsey Plum, A’Ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu of the United States celebrate Team USA winning the Gold Medal during the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Final match between USA and China at Sydney Superdome, on October 01, 2022, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
Overall, the lack of production from wings or backcourt isn’t a matter of concern, especially when the American roster has hit 57 straight wins on the Olympics’ court. Even now, it shows no signs of stoppage as hardly any country foresees having what it takes to counteract. Still, there’s a heavy weight put on “A’ja and Stewie” in the quest to wear Olympic medals around their necks.
The team takes on Germany next, who share equal wins, on the 3rd of August.
Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection Silas Demary Jr.
Written by
Edited by
Shivatmika Manvi