Clark, Wilson and a Remade Team USA Are Nine Days From Berlin
The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup starts September 4, and the U.S. blends five 2022 champions with seven debutantes under new coach Kara Lawson.
Nine days from now, the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup tips off in Berlin — and the United States arrives with a roster that captures a sport mid-handover. USA Basketball's 12, announced August 6, pairs five players back from the 2022 title team with seven World Cup debutantes, per USA Basketball's announcement.
The names: A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Kahleah Copper and Rhyne Howard. Four of them — Boston, Bueckers, Clark and Reese — are playing their first major senior international tournament.
"This is an incredibly talented group that has earned the opportunity to compete in Berlin," said managing director Sue Bird in the announcement. "Wearing a USA jersey is a privilege."
The Lawson era starts now
Duke's Kara Lawson coaches her first World Cup as the national team's head coach — a job she was handed with a mandate running through the LA28 Olympics. Her staff includes Golden State's Natalie Nakase, Phoenix's Nate Tibbetts and Indiana's Stephanie White.
The U.S. opens group play against China on September 4, then faces Italy (September 6) and Czechia (September 7). The tournament runs through the final on September 13.
The field is loading up
Per FIBA's roster tracker, most of the 16-team field has named squads: France lists Gabby Williams and Marine Johannès among an extended group, Australia brings Ezi Magbegor and Sami Whitcomb, and Belgium, Japan, Italy and Türkiye are set. As of the tracker's latest update, hosts Germany, plus China and Nigeria, had not yet finalized their rosters — meaning the Americans' opening-night opponent is still something of a mystery.