Why Caitlin Clark Could Not Have Saved USA’s 3×3 Basketball Team

The uproar over Caitlin Clark’s omission from the United States women’s basketball team resonated for weeks, but the debate died down once Team USA got rolling at the Paris Olympics.

Stocked with WNBA legends, All-Stars and former league MVPs, the Americans are well on their way to winning an eighth-straight Olympic championship. They completed group play in dominant fashion Sunday, beating Germany 87-68 for their 58th consecutive victory. They remain overwhelming favorites to top the podium.

The U.S. women’s 3×3 basketball team also features WNBA players. It was looking to defend its Tokyo Games title, too. However, the Americans lost to Spain in the semifinals and beat Canada to win bronze on Monday.

Could the USA 3×3 squad have used Clark? Maybe. Probably. The decision to include her would’ve had to been made months ago, though — not weeks before the Paris Games.

Unlike the 5×5 competition, 3×3 players must gain Olympic eligibility by playing in FIBA events and accruing the necessary rankings points. USA Basketball would’ve had to plan for Clark’s inclusion long ago — when she was still playing in college and starring for Iowa — by having her compete regularly on FIBA’s 3×3 circuit.

And if Clark had any interest in playing 3×3, she would’ve expressed it while playing for USA Basketball as a teenager. She has won three gold medals on U.S. youth teams, but all three squads played 5×5 basketball. Hailey Van Lith, the former LSU star who’s on USA’s Paris Games 3×3 team, has been playing 3×3 since 2019, when she won gold at the FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup.

Clark’s rabid fans probably already knew the reasons why Clark wasn’t a 3×3 possibility. But for the rest of you, well, now you know.

Could Clark excel at 3×3? It’s a physical style of basketball that requires defensive focus and commitment in constant isolation matchups, a characteristic that’s not one of her strengths.

On offense, though, Clark’s impact would be immense with her long-range 3-point shooting creating plenty of space for teammates to attack the basket. It also would be fun to see how creative she could get with her passing with all of the off-ball movement in 3×3.