Yahoo Sports Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi lead USA Basketball World Cup selections
The United States will go for an unprecedented third consecutive FIBA World Cup gold medal when the tournament tips off Saturday in Tenerife, Spain.
The USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee announced the finalized roster Wednesday. It features WNBA champion Sue Bird in her record fifth USA Basketball World Cup selection and Diana Taurasi, who makes her fourth.
The players combine for 23 Olympic and World Cup gold medals with an overall 669-39 (.945) record in USA Basketball games played. The gold medalist in the tournament receives an automatic berth to the 2020 Olympic Games.
Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi lead USA Basketball World Cup team
Bird will play on her fifth USA Basketball World Cup team less than two weeks after her Seattle Storm won the 2018 WNBA title. The guard has a lengthy list of championships dating back to her high school playing days in New York. She’s a four-time Olympic gold medalist, winning it every cycle since 2004.
Alongside her with those four Olympic titles is Taurasi. The Phoenix Mercury guard is the WNBA’s career points leader. It’s her fourth World Cup team selection. She’s tied with five-time Olympian Teresa Edwards for most USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year honors with four.
WNBA MVPs Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson selected
Breanna Stewart, the 2018 WNBA MVP, earned her selection less than two weeks after leading the Storm to a title. Stewart is the 11th athlete in history to earn Olympic (2016) and World Cup (2014) medals, a WNBA title and an NCAA championship. She won NCAA titles all four years with UConn.
WNBA Rookie of the Year A’ja Wilson will make her first appearance on the World Cup team. The Las Vegas Aces power forward earned the 2017 NCAA title with South Carolina and was picked first overall in the last WNBA draft.
The 2018 USA Basketball full roster
Joining the four to complete the 12-player roster are Tina Charles (New York Liberty), Layshia Clarendon (Connecticut Sun), Elena Delle Donne (Washington Mystics), Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury), Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm), Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks), Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces) and Morgan Tuck (Connecticut Sun).
University of South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley will lead the team on the sidelines. Staley won USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year honors in 1994 and 2004 and led South Carolina to the 2017 title.
How the FIBA World Cup works
USA will play in Group D and opens the preliminary round against Senegal at 1 p.m. EST Saturday. The USA will play China on Sept. 23 and Latvia on Sept. 25.
The eight teams that place second and third in each of the four groups will play single-elimination games to advance to the quarterfinals. Winners will play the first-place teams in the semifinals, played Sept. 29. The finals are Sept. 30.
The gold medalist receives an automatic berth in the 2020 Olympics. If the USA does not win gold, it will have two more chances to qualify for the Olympics in Tokyo.
Since the World Cup’s inception in 1953, the USA is 103-21 in 16 appearances. Twelve appearances have resulted in a medal and teams averaged a 28.8 point margin of victory over opponents.
USA has won four of the past five FIBA World Cups and a record nine gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze medals. But it has never won three in a row.
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