Five Out: Team USA's Gold Medal Run, Angel Reese the fashion mogul and the WNBA is back!
What are the lessons of the 2024 Olympics in women's basketball? And what can we expect in the stretch run of the W season? Our WBB column for the week of August 12, 2024.
Well, that was a lovely two weeks. I could write thousands of words about how The Gold Zone and NBC’s programming and app design saved the Olympics but maybe that’s for another outlet at another time. All I’ll say is that I hope that viewing experience comes back for the winter games because if you haven’t seen dual mogul skiing before…click here (seriously, as a former mogul skier our sport is awesome and worthy of your attention) and get excited to see it for the first time with Olympics medals on the line.
In the meantime, let’s preview what’s ahead on No Cap Space this week.
Tuesday: We have a pair of profiles for you. The first concerns Grand Canyon University head coach Molly Miller, her coaching career, calls from Kentucky this offseason and how a faith based program can be progressive in the world of women’s basketball. Later in the day,
analyzes Hailey Van Lith’s game and how her time in Paris with the 3x3 team can help her up her game with TCU this year.Wednesday:
begins her own stretch run, starting with an outlook on the rest of the WNBA season.Thursday: We know how much you all loved the first Hater’s Guide, so we decided to bring it back. Chauny brings you a brand new how-to for being an ethical hater in the W going into the fall.
Friday: We get the scoop from
of on the Indiana Fever, covering the Caitlin Clark phenomenon and whether or not they can gun for a five seed in the WNBA Playoffs this year.Weekend:
and head to Overtime Select to see the next generation of great hoopers. Tap in with us on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok to see their content as it happens.
Now, as always, to the column…
1. Team USA won Gold again but the rest of the world is catching up (and that’s a good thing).
Whew, what a game/heart attack that was. Team USA extended the most dominant Olympic streak dating back to the times of Odysseus by defeating France 67-66 in Bercy Arena. It had a little bit of everything: foul trouble, deep threes, questionable refereeing, questionable decision making down the stretch and a couple of big shots to decide a consequential matchup. All that was missing was MTV’s Dan Cortese.
While Team USA remains, as Dawn Staley said on NBC, a ‘dynasty of dynasties’ it was interesting to see France be the closest team since Brazil in the 1994 FIBA World Cup to upsetting the Americans in elimination competition. The takeaway was simple: Team USA’s talent might not be able to insulate them from a bad game anymore. Even if it means a few more heart palpitations for fans watching stateside, that parity is good for the game and the WNBA writ large. It’s important to note that a good chunk of the international field has American ties. Almost all of Nigeria’s roster was comprised of expat Americans. Swaths of the French, Belgian, Australian and German rosters had some degree of WNBA experience. The close win does not mean that more young Americans need to play their offseasons abroad. It just means that other countries are starting to develop the talent that they have and create a women’s basketball culture within their own federation.
The more international the WNBA gets, the better off it will be from a business and athletic perspective. A more global game means more eyeballs and a greater diversity of style in play. That means more money, which means higher salaries and better opportunities. And isn’t that we’ve been advocating for? For these players to be worth the entertainment value they provide?
Ultimately, that means at some point the streak — and American dominance — might come to an end on the Olympic level. There might be a bad game from the American guards, or Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson or Alyssa Thomas. There might be a great game from Emma Meeseman, Gabby Williams, Satou Sabally or Han Xu. There might be online discourse that sucks. There also might be a year in the future where something other than the National Anthem is played at the medal ceremony. But I’d argue the trade off of those complicated national emotions is that there will be greater gender parity globally as more countries begin to understand the value of women as athletes and basketball players specifically.
Doesn’t sound like a bad deal to me.
2. A’ja Wilson continues to build a GOAT resume bolstered by another Olympic run.
In Paris, there were a small handful of individuals that you would classify as ‘automatic’. Mondo Duplantis, the Swedish (and Louisianan, if you can believe it) pole vaulter. Steph Curry, Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky.
Add A’ja Wilson to the list.
I think it’s fair to say there’s some Tim Duncan-ness to the Vegas superstars game. You just become inured to the dominance over time. But the column is here to make sure that that doesn’t happen. The 28 year old from South Carolina is the greatest basketball player on earth, point-blank-period. Her first Olympic MVP honor and second gold medal adds to a resume that is starting to enter all-time great — or even Greatest of All Time — talks. In these games, she led Team USA in points, rebounds, steals, blocks, field goals made, free throws made, and efficiency. There is a legitimate argument to be made that she was the MVP in Tokyo too. At 28, she has at least another two Olympic cycles in her and I would wager she’ll probably still be MVP caliber when Team USA is going for gold in Los Angeles.
As she continues to rake in accolades, it’s becoming clear even to the most ardent hater that we’re watching greatness. Team USA could have lost on Sunday but blame wouldn’t have been at the feet of Wilson, who finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. Over the course of the Tournament, she averaged 18.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Much like Lebron James, Steph or Kevin Durant on the men’s side, we just expect Wilson to be the Terminator that USA basketball always has but no one else does. She, especially today, was the difference between the dynasty of dynasties continuing its’ run and becoming the subject of endless online debates and potential meme’ing by the French.
You hope that she still has something left in the tank for the back half of the WNBA season but even that’s something Wilson excels at. She’s one of, if not the best, conditioned athletes the sport has ever seen. If she manages to defend her MVP crown then it caps off one of the most statistically dominant seasons we’ve ever seen in team sports. Since Kahleah Copper now has a monopoly on ‘That B***h’, we’ll have to use one word to describe Wilson instead.
Her.
3. Angel Reese’s Reebok line shows that ‘Face of the WNBA’ is a title with multiple definitions.
I’ll confess upfront: I’m a relatively style-less white dude. If my culture of upper middle class New York suburbia could be personified, it would probably be by a Sperry. My wife, a lovely woman who somehow puts up with me, has upgraded my wardrobe significantly over the years. She isn’t copy editing this piece so I could be totally off-base when I say this…
But I think Angel Reese’s new Reebok collection kicks ass.
Their rollout has been excellent and very clearly reflects the Chicago Sky rookie’s fashion sense. Her slogan of ‘when they sleep on you…tuck them in’ seems like something that could catch on culturally. There’s been some mixed reviews on the shoes but I could definitely see these being a hit with younger kids who like something a bit more flashy. A silver/chrome feels like a relatively easy color to style around. Reebok classics, at least in my opinion, are one of the most slept on streetwear shoes. The all whites are great if you can keep them clean and the white/icy blue feels versatile enough that it can work with a lot of fits.
But what impresses me the most about Angel Reese is that she walks the walk when it comes to her interest in fashion and style. It’s one thing to roll up to the Met Gala but it’s clear that her interests off the court are extremely well defined. That’s great from a monetization perspective but carries a lot of weight in the discussions we like to have about what is a ‘face of the league’.
Maybe we’ve been looking at the ‘face of the league’ discussion wrong this whole time. Maybe it’s a title with multiple definitions, all of which are respected and valid. It’s clear from the fashion and culture angle that Angel moves the needle in ways few other players do. After all, how many other athletes are spending their Olympic break hanging out on stage with Meg Thee Stallion, among other things? While Caitlin Clark has the eight figure shoe deal, Reese has already started to collaborate with Reebok on her own apparel collection and take advantage of her status as a face of the company.
Maybe ‘face of the league’ isn’t a singular position anymore. Maybe it can be A’ja Wilson *and* Caitlin Clark *and* Angel Reese. It’s entirely possible. Reese can be the fashion and cultural face of this league. Whatever your thoughts are on Anna Wintour, she’s one of the most iconic names and faces in the fashion world. And here’s Angel Reese hanging with her. In another corner, Wilson can be the basketball face of the league. As we noted in point two, no one is playing better than her right now. And in a third corner can be Caitlin Clark, a lightning rod player that has captivated millions with the aesthetics and skill of her game and the accessibility it creates for new fans to find the W.
I, a fashion-deficient individual, walked away from Reese’s apparel rollout realizing that there is space for everyone if we allow it to be. The only way one avenue is greater than the other is if you put more emphasis on one than the other. And at the end of the day, everyone having different opinions — healthy ones, at least — is what keeps us interested in sports, isn’t it? It keeps me writing at the very least, so there’s that.
4. Now that it’s over, let’s litigate the Caitlin Clark/Team USA omission with some nuance.
The column has largely avoided the Caitlin Clark/Team USA discourse for obvious reasons. It is, for the most part, extremely toxic. But now that we’re at the end of the Tournament, maybe we can try and direct the debate into some more nuanced territory on both ends.
Or…we’re extremely arrogant about this column’s place in the general discussion. I guess we’ll find out soon.
After seeing a Diana Taurasi DNP in the gold medal game against France, it was clear that Caitlin Clark could’ve done the same thing.
But I get it.
I would be surprised if the selection committee didn’t know that this Olympics would be the last for DT. To get her six Gold medals and cap off arguably the most dominant era in the competition ever, they put her on the squad knowing that her contributions might be minimal. On top of that, the discourse around Jayson Tatum and the men’s team shows that Clark sitting on the bench would create some truly insane headlines. Tatum, a largely milquetoast unprovocative superstar, was the subject of some of the most absurd Olympic discourse in recent memory. Now imagine Clark, an unwillingly polarizing figure who has found herself as the center of a culture war that is running along a parallel track as the basketball debate. No thanks. After seeing the ‘agita’ it caused the men’s program, I couldn’t imagine the drama it would’ve brought to the women. Draymond Green decided to pop in with his take while the Team USA women were evaporating the field en route to the gold medal game. Our collective inability to properly assess the national team — in part, because of their dominance — would’ve likely spawned some of the most preposterous takes sports dialogue has ever seen.
At the same time, if the goal is to win I’m kind of curious why you wouldn’t bring Clark along just to watch. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad she got some sleep for the first time in probably a calendar year. But if the discussion about Team USA’s guards is that the physicality of FIBA basketball got to them, it would make sense for you to bring your next generational star as early as possible to understand what that looks like. The WNBA physicality has already been an adjustment for Clark. If the world is truly catching up the way that the first point in the column argues, then it would probably be best to get her on the floor in some group stage games the way the French did with 18 year old Domonique Malonga (who, by the way, is next up. Trust us.). With Chelsea Gray still looking hampered by injury, it would have been nice to have a pass first point guard get some reps. And if it truly is the last Olympic cycle for Diana Taurasi, wouldn’t you maybe want Clark there? To get a crash course from *the* veteran of the games on how to lead Team USA and continue this dominance.
While it ultimately doesn’t matter, I think we should be able to evolve from the “it’s politics” argument. At the end of the day, I write a column in my free time. Fans talk about the game on social media. The folks who make these decisions aren’t infallible but I know a Cheryl Reeve or Dawn Staley have forgotten more basketball than I — or we — will ever know. They deserve the benefit of the doubt that their decision making wasn’t simply about whether or not Clark was popular or not. By extension, we should strive for a more nuanced discourse about it as well. I’m not sure if the ‘for’ and ‘against’ argument gave you something to take with you. But I sure hope they did. The world needs less Skip Bayless takes anyway.
5. Guest point from Chauny: On the limits of admitting privilege and eliminating the need for “step-blacks”.
Hello folks it is I, the Hater in Chief, here to get some things off my chest so that we can hopefully close the gap on an issue that has been plaguing women’s sports.
Let me just begin by saying that in terms of WNBA discourse, we got here because of racism. Right-wing media absolutely gravitated to Caitlin Clark and used her as a pawn to antagonize Black people. The worst-people-that-media has-to-offer inserted themselves in the space and proceeded to muck it up by being…well…themselves.
I write this point not to absolve anybody of blame or deny there is a problem, but rather to issue a passionate plea; CAN WE PLEASE COUNTERACT THE NOISE WITH BETTER CONVERSATIONS AND COVERAGE?!
What’s really chafed my nether regions about this culture war is I feel that we, the rational people with sizable platforms, could’ve easily taken control and shifted the new eyeballs to more meaningful content featuring Black women. Instead, we got political writers with large audiences coming over and the only stance they could muster up as a newbie was “Caitlin Clark is getting too much attention?!”.
This has led to, what I feel like is, a weird phenomenon of taking allyship attendance of ‘who said what’ to defend Black women today. It’s how Caitlin Clark is being defined as a willing pawn in a culture war against Angel Reese and others while Paige Bueckers was given the most ridiculous designation of “Step-Black” on Twitter. The problem with everyone’s politics stopping at “Caitlin gets too much attention, she needs to be more like Paige and Cam Brink, they just get it!” is…wait for it…that it still centers white women and doesn’t solve the disparity of coverage that is affecting Black women in the sport.
This All-Star weekend, we saw Paige outside, as she’s been all summer, recognized during the game and featured on the jumbotron. She leans back in an attempt to redirect the attention to Founding WNBA Mother Sheryl Swoopes, who is sitting right next to her. Now, this was an admirable gesture and I applaud Paige for doing what she feels is right, but why should a 21-year-old need to step in for a WNBA legend? Who was responsible for that gaffe? Fast-forward to a few days ago when Paige was interviewed and asked about her allyship and how she wants to use her voice. Again, noble on it’s face, but who does this help? Why is a college student being asked about these complex issues and not the Black women in the league that the issue directly affects or has affected? What will Paige constantly speaking out lead to if it’s just a general overview of the problem and not a pointed critique of specific entities who need to do better?
Because for me, I’m watching allies do their thing. And while I’m not faulting them, I am noticing how it all amounts to just lip service. Nobody is giving up endorsements for more deserving Black players. Nobody is bringing any of their Black teammates along during these high-profile interviews. Nobody is really doing anything that pushes themselves completely out of their comfort zone to fully benefit Black women. In short, no one is doing the hard work — the work we define allyship to be — that actually leads to something changing.
And I get it, capitalism is the name of the game and everybody’s trying to play it. So in the meantime, as we head into the second half of a historic season growth-wise…can we make a pact to create, amplify or demand content that moves the game forward rather than just adding to the noise? Please, I need this. My crops are dying.
I couldnt agree with you more Andrew, Mogul skiing is the best!!!!
Man I love this whole substack, but when Chauny weighs in I just want to jump up and clap every time. It is so frustrating to watch Paige and Cameron be lauded as allies for pointing out the most basic truth of American society. This is nothing against either player - who both seem great and I'm sure have the best of intentions - but do you know how many actual black players in the league have said these exact same sentiments? While speaking to their actual lived experience? Not to mention, while being better players than both of them?
I also appreciate you pointing out that nobody is actually giving up endorsements for black athletes, or even really trying to steer the media attention from themselves and towards black athletes. In our world of social media activism, it seems that the actual "act" part of activism is so often lost. Like what is Paige and Cam acknowledging white privilege really serving unless they're going to attempt to do anything with/about it? We all already know it exists. That interview for example reads as weird PR for Paige The Ally, when if they actually cared about the issue they're celebrating her for shedding light on, another athlete could've been the subject of this interview altogether.
To the Caitlin Clark on Team USA point, I feel like that's kind of always been my thought process - that there's likely going to be a lot of new faces on the next Olympic team, and it seems helpful to at least get her in for the experience. That, from my understanding, has always been the thought process with putting rookies on the team. And, to the point of discourse, it seemed like the discourse continued even without her playing - whether from those reiterating she should've been there, or those on the other end being like "and you all wanted CC there! She would've struggled so much with that press!" My thought was then that maybe they aren't planning on ever integrating her into the national team? Could it be like the case with Arike, that they just see her as too ball dominant?