The Phoenix Mercury will have three players—Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Kahleah Copper—representing Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to multiple reports.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Athletic was the first to report the news.
This will be the sixth Olympic appearance for the 41-year-old Taurasi, breaking an all-time basketball record for most appearances by any player, men’s or women’s.
Griner, who just made her season debut yesterday after a foot injury and posted 11 points and four rebounds, will be playing in her third Olympics. The 33-year-old competed in each of the last two Olympic games.
In her first season in Phoenix, the 29-year-old Copper is averaging a career-high and the third-most points in the WNBA this season at 23.5 across 11 games. Last night, she capped off her fourth 30-point game of the season with a game-winning 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to lead the 5-6 Mercury to an 81-80 win over the Minnesota Lynx. This will be her first appearance on Team USA.
Here is Kahleah Copper’s (@kahleahcopper ) clutch, game-winning 3 with less than a second left in the game, propelling the Mercury to an 81-80 win over the Lynx. #ValleyTogether #WNBA #LynxRecognize pic.twitter.com/CrlAsR2cM9
— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) June 8, 2024
This is the full reported Team USA women’s roster for the Olympics:
THE 2024 USA WOMEN'S OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TEAM IS STACKED ????
The roster is according to multiple reports. pic.twitter.com/6YQZCgcbRP
— ESPN (@espn) June 8, 2024
There will be no WNBA games from July 21 to Aug. 14 due to the Olympics. Team USA will be going for its eighth-straight gold medal, and Taurasi has a chance to break a tie with Sue Bird for the most gold medals all-time (6). The USA women’s team has not lost in the Olympics since 1992 and is 70-3 all-time in them with nine gold medals, one silver and one bronze.
Team USA begins group play on July 29 against Japan. In addition to Japan, Team USA’s Group C includes Germany and Belgium.
Kahleah Copper makes history once again in Mercury’s win over Lynx
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
