How A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart lead USA women's basketball - ESPN

The origin story of the best women's basketball tandem in the world — and now the protectors of Team USA's dominant legacy — started 11 years ago in Lithuania.

In July 2013, a young Breanna Stewart and A'ja Wilson joined forces on the USA's FIBA U19 World Cup team. Stewart, 18 years old and fresh off her first national title at UConn, had long been part of USA Basketball. Wilson, 16, was months away from committing to South Carolina for her collegiate career and an up-and-comer in the national team pipeline.

After cruising to a 61-28 victory over France in the final, Stewart, the World Cup MVP, and Wilson posed together with their gold medals and made silly faces. Over a decade and many gold medals later, a photo of the moment resurfaced at last month's WNBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, where the pair once more sported USA on their chests on the eve of the Paris Olympics.

«A'ja, A'ja, A'ja!» Stewart shouted across the room during a media availability, both of them separated by throngs of reporters. «Did you see this picture? We need to re-enact that!»

A post shared by A'ja Wilson (@aja22wilson)

Upon seeing the photo, Wilson roared with laughter.

«Not Lithuania!» Wilson yelled back to Stewart. «OK, yeah, we've got to!»

Stewart and Wilson said now they couldn't have imagined being the pillars of Team USA all those years ago. But that's the position in which the duo — fierce competitors in the WNBA, two of the most decorated Americans the sport has seen — finds itself this summer at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

Six-time Olympian Diana Taurasi is still there — the «camp supervisor,» Wilson called her — but there's no question whose team it is.

And the two erased any doubt when they combined for 46 points, 21 rebounds, 7