They will play Germany, Japan and Belgium in a very tough group setting.
On Tuesday, FIBA released the draw for the women’s basketball teams in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
The groupings
Allez!
The Women’s Olympic Basketball groups are set for #Paris2024! pic.twitter.com/0osYCk2oh2
— FIBA (@FIBA) March 19, 2024
Group A: Serbia, Spain, China, Puerto Rico
Group B: Canada, Nigeria, Australia, France
Group C: Germany, United States, Japan, Belgium
Who is the favorite to win?
The Americans are the No. 1 team in the world, and they will be favored to win here once again. They will be in the same group as the Belgian Cats, who are the defending Women’s EuroBasket champions and Japan, who won the 2020 Olympic silver medal. Germany is entering their first-ever Olympics in women’s basketball.
The Americans could also be prone for a loss, at least in the group stage. The Cats played Team USA in February and should have beaten them, if only Kelsey Plum was called for being out of bounds on a critical play.
In addition to Belgium, some other teams like China, France and Australia could put up a fight as well.
Will the Mystics have players at the Olympics?
One player is effectively guaranteed to be in Paris on Washington’s roster: Julie Vanloo for Belgium, who signed a training camp contract last month. It will be interesting to see if she plays for Washington before the Olympic break or not.
As for Team USA, Ariel Atkins should be a near lock for the final team. She was on the team for the 2020 Olympics and the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup. However, Atkins isn’t as flashy of a name as a number of younger guards who are also looking to make the squad. I think Atkins will still make the team in the end because she can play the role of lockdown defender without needing to be ball dominant on offense.
If neither Vanloo or Atkins make the team, at least we can root for General Manager Mike Thibault, who is an assistant coach on the current squad.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.