MIAMI — Caitlin Clark grew up watching the greatness of Maya Moore, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi dominate the global stage with USA Basketball.
She imagined one day following in their footsteps and representing the red, white and blue in international competitions.
So before Clark took the practice court in Miami on Saturday to prepare for the upcoming FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament, memories of the journey to this point started to flood back.
She recalled when her under-16 team entered a room at the USA Basketball headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., that was filled to the brim with legends’ jerseys.
To some, that room was a glorified storage room, filled with boxes, shelves and racks.
But for Clark, it meant something so much more.
“I remember as a kid, like, my eyes were so wide,” Clark said. “I thought that was the coolest thing in the world — all these senior national team jerseys of all these great men’s players and all these really great women’s players — and we’re 15 and 16 years old and obviously having dreams of being able to do that one day.”
That time has come.
Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese — three of the WNBA’s newest faces — were among a group of players who made their USA Basketball senior national team debuts Wednesday at the World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico with a 110-46 victory over Senegal.
Clark finished with 17 points and 12 assists. Bueckers had nine points and four rebounds while Reese tallied six points and eight boards.
The roster — the first fielded by Bird since she was tapped to be the first managing director of the U.S. women’s national team in May — features a balance of veteran leaders, such as Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper and Kelsey Plum, and youth. And Bird was excited to see the team in action Wednesday.
“We have a great group,” Bird said. “I keep joking, I’ve been doing this for like 20 years on napkins, so it was nice to actually have a real roster.”
Napheesa Collier, A’ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart are among the notable absentees due to scheduling conflicts or various other reasons. Stewart practiced with the team in Miami but headed back to New York on Sunday to rest before heading overseas next month for a brief stint with EuroLeague’s Fenerbahce Opet.
The U.S. already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, so the stakes for this upcoming tournament aren’t necessarily as high.
Nevertheless, Bird believes this is a “wonderful opportunity” for some of the first-timers to play international basketball, which is a different style than they might be accustomed to.
“Globally, you have to understand that when you put that jersey on, it’s different,” Bird said. “People come at you different.”
Those who’ve played for junior national teams know just how rare an opportunity it is to get a senior team call-up.
Clark said she played on three junior national teams, including two under-19 squads. Her absences from the 2024 Paris Games roster spurred controversy. But Clark said she’s savoring each step in this journey.
“This is obviously everybody’s dream,” she said.
Clark, Reese and Bueckers have competed against each other for some time. But this will be the first time they’ll share the court as teammates.
“It’s going to be really, really cool,” Reese said. “So I’m really excited. Obviously 2028 is a far, long way [off], but just being able to have this moment right now, I think it’s really important.”
The trio know there’s a sense of honor and pride that comes with playing for USA Basketball. They are well aware of the eight consecutive Olympic gold medals as well as the Americans winning four straight World Cups (11 total).
“You just stay humble and grounded while also using that as motivation to continue to want to get better [and] to continue to just build off of what the people who did before us built,” Bueckers said. “They set the stage on what we want this to look like and the competitive fire, the winning, just the pride and the sense of passion you have for wearing USA, so it means a lot but again, those are just words. We want to put action behind it and really follow through with that.”
