The Liberty should be well represented at next month’s FIBA World Cup tournament in Berlin.
Breanna Stewart is all but a lock for the U.S. and could be joined by Sabrina Ionescu, who is also in the conversation for one of the country’s 12 spots.
Leonie Fiebich is expected to suit up for Germany, the host country, while Satou Sabally’s status is less certain as she remains in concussion protocol.
Marine Johannes, Pauline Astier and Marine Fauthoux are candidates for the French national team, Raquel Carrera could play for Spain and Han Xu for China.
The tournament is scheduled to run Sept. 4-13 in Berlin, while the WNBA is on break.
Most official rosters haven’t been released yet. Sue Bird, the first managing director of the USA Basketball women’s national team, is set to announce the U.S. roster Thursday during the third hour of NBC’s “Today Show.”
For more than the past year, Bird has been weighing the hefty roster decision she faced.
The deep pool of U.S. candidates won’t make Bird’s decision easy. There are plenty of up-and-coming young stars who might take over certain U.S. mainstays’ spots.
Here’s The Post’s prediction for the 2026 U.S. World Cup roster:
Guards
Caitlin Clark
Paige Bueckers
Sabrina Ionescu
Kelsey Plum
Chelsea Gray
Wings
Kahleah Copper
Rhyne Howard
Jackie Young
Bigs
A’ja Wilson
Breanna Stewart
Napheesa Collier
Aliyah Boston
This is essentially the 2024 Olympic roster with a few major changes.
Bueckers and Clark look to replace Diana Taurasi and Jewell Loyd while Boston and Howard are poised to take Alyssa Thomas and Brittney Griner’s spots.
This roster has a blend of veterans and youngsters. Clark and Bueckers appear to be the future. Gray is the oldest player at 33 and Stewart, Plum and Copper are 31.
Stewart remains one of the world’s best players and hasn’t shown many signs of aging. If anything, she’s had a 3-point renaissance over the past six weeks.
One could wonder whether Plum and Ionescu’s injuries this summer could cause Bird to balk on securing them roster spots.
Ionescu missed time with a foot injury and back soreness at the beginning of the WNBA season. She was a little rocky in the first few weeks of her return but has looked much more like herself as of late, averaging 22.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists while shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 42 percent from beyond the arc over the past nine games entering Wednesday’s Liberty game against the Seattle Storm.
Meanwhile, Plum returned this week from a lower left leg injury that sidelined her for all of July. She’s third in WNBA scoring this season with 23.9 points per game (albeit with a small sample size of 13 contests).
Potential snubs
Two years ago, Clark’s absence from the 2024 Paris Games roster caused an uproar.
If Olivia Miles is left off the upcoming roster, will the decision receive the same level of outrage? (Don’t answer that.)
Miles hasn’t played on the senior U.S. women’s national team nor was she part of the training camp that took place during the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Phoenix, which is why she might not get the call-up this time. But Miles — arguably the best, most impactful rookie since Candace Parker in 2008 — has plenty of years to play for her country on the biggest stages, including the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Angel Reese and Kiki Iriafen also didn’t make my cut. Both were part of the U.S. team that won the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico in March. Again, both are young; both have plenty of time to play for the U.S. But who among the veterans are you cutting to give them a roster spot?
Thomas was on the most recent U.S. Olympic team, but this upcoming World Cup roster could be a changing of the guard of sorts.
Thomas and Clark suiting up for the same team could be somewhat awkward. They had a run-in earlier this season in which Thomas landed her fist on Clark’s throat and subsequently was handed her first career suspension. Thomas said the contact wasn’t intentional.
