Paul Pierce Questions Women’s Basketball’s Potential for Growth After Snubbing Caitlin Clark from Team USA

Caitlin Clark‘s omission from the US Women’s National Team roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics has split the basketball fraternity into two camps. One argues that the rookie sensation hasn’t achieved enough to warrant a place on the team, while others claim that her ability to draw a crowd should have been sufficient to earn a ticket to Paris. Paul Pierce falls in the latter category and passionately defended his stance on Undisputed.

The Hall of Famer expressed his disappointment about Clark’s snub from the Olympic team and claimed her exclusion was detrimental to the interest in the sport. He concurred with the other camp’s argument that she doesn’t have the accolades that the players who were selected boast, but argued that none of them will draw crowds and viewers like the Indiana Fever star could. He said,

“The thing that bothers me the most is that you can that you want the women’s game to grow and then you keep the most popular girl in women’s basketball off the team. Now how do you grow internationally and domestically if you don’t put her on the US Team? This is a missed opportunity in the girl’s game to allow her on a national level to be here with the rest of the star to help grow this game.”

Clark’s role in the unprecedented spike in the popularity of women’s basketball is undeniable. Last week, 20,333 fans were in attendance to watch the Fever star score a career-high 30 points in her team’s win over the Washington Mystics. It was the biggest crowd at a WNBA game in 17 years and surpassed the $1 million mark in ticket sales, the highest gate for the Mystics in franchise history.

Clark’s omission from the Olympic team perplexed many, especially when her inclusion received a stamp of approval from Lisa Leslie well before entry into the WNBA.

Lisa Leslie wanted Caitlin Clark on the plane to Paris

In April, Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie vouched for Caitlin Clark to receive one of the 12 spots on the US Women’s National Team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. In an interview with Sporting News, the four-time Olympic gold medalist was asked whether the then-Iowa Hawkeyes sensation should be on the team. She replied,

“One hundred percent. One thousand percent. I can’t even let you get the question out. I don’t know how you leave the country without her…  When you see an American player is the most outstanding player in our country — how is she not having the opportunity to represent our country?”

Leslie’s support and Clark’s impactful rookie campaign weren’t enough for the Fever star to receive a spot on the team. Per Indiana’s head coach Christie Sides, the 22-year-old guard has taken the snub personally. How she responds to it over the rest of the season remains to be seen.