Clark, Bueckers on Team USA women's roster for FIBA World Cup - ESPN

USA Basketball's long-awaited youth movement is here, as Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese and Aliyah Boston will make their first USA appearances at a major international competition next month at the FIBA World Cup in Germany.

The 12-player women's national team, which USA Basketball announced Thursday morning, is also headlined by A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, who have combined for six WNBA MVP awards and have each won World Cup and Olympic MVP honors. Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Kahleah Copper and Rhyne Howard round out the roster.

The players — who will seek the program's 12th World Cup gold medal and fifth straight — were selected by national team managing director Sue Bird and approved by the USA Basketball board of directors.

«The makeup of the roster is pretty straightforward,» Bird told reporters over Zoom following the announcement. «Just wanting to have a good mixture of people with experience, of people with youth — obviously, that sets us up for the future as well, but also a team that complements each other and can go on the court and win gold.

»And that's always the north star in all these decisions that I've made: putting together a roster that complements each other, has a cohesiveness, can play [national team coach] Kara [Lawson]'s style, and go out there and get a gold."

«It's great to have a team and to have a roster,» Lawson said in a statement. «It's been a long process to whittle it down to 12 players, and I think that speaks to just the talent we have in our country across the board. These 12 have earned it through their play and their consistency. I couldn't be more excited about working with each of them, and I've had good experience with each of them…