Atkins is one of the best perimeter defenders in the world. Because of that, she won’t require the ball to make an impact. Clark would be more visible from a marketing perspective, but she hasn’t played for Team USA at the senior level.
It was just last month when the USA Basketball women’s national team was named for the Olympic Games in France. The Washington Mystics, who had two players on the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup, ended up emptyhanded. Though center Shakira Austin was out and still nursing a hip injury this season, guard Ariel Atkins, who also played on the 2020 Olympic team, was snubbed from the team. I think she’s snubbed, even though most fans think she was undeserving of an Olympic spot, possibly because of the Mystics’ bad record this season.
Anyway, even though the Mystics currently are the only team without any All-Stars for the game this Saturday, it’s possible that something may change. That’s because Phoenix Mercury and Team USA guard Diana Taurasi has a lower left leg injury and may not be able to play. If so, USA Basketball will select a player to take her place.
Knowing how today’s social media environment is, many vocal fans on X, Threads, Facebook, Instagram and everywhere in between want Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark to take Taurasi’s place. Like Taurasi, Clark is a score-first guard who could be the Fever’s greatest player of all time, which is saying something, considering how great Tamika Catchings was, but I digress.
Though many vocal fans want Clark, I still don’t think that she should take Taurasi’s place on Team USA. Instead, they should give that spot to none other than Mystics guard Ariel Atkins.
I know I’m going to get some hate for it, but I don’t care. I have to be tribal for the Mystics. And to be honest, Atkins should have been on this team ALL ALONG. Let me explain why Atkins deserves to be on Team USA and why Clark doesn’t.
Atkins has played for Team USA and won Gold twice. Clark hasn’t.
If you have read this site for the past decade, you know that Atkins was on the 2020 Olympic team in Tokyo (in 2021, but they are still the 2020 Olympics) that won the gold medal. She also continued to be on Team USA for the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup that won the Gold Medal. In both competitions, she was used primarily as a defender off the bench. We’ll go more into that later.
And let me add that Atkins was on Team USA for the Olympic qualifying team in 2024 as well.
Sure, Clark is several years younger than Atkins and in college for these world competitions.. She is on track to be a better player than Atkins is in the very near future. But when USA Basketball claims that Clark’s lack of experience was why she was left out of the initial 2024 team, but puts her in AHEAD OF ATKINS after a spot opens up, they will be hypocrites for it.
So let’s go to Clark’s experience for Team USA. What does she have? She played for them in The U21 Women’s World Cup in 2019 and 2021 when the Americans won gold, but Clark ultimately hasn’t been on Team USA at the senior level.
Atkins can have a specific role as a 3-and-D specialist on Team USA. Clark’s strength as a high usage scorer is already taken by multiple players.
Until the 2023 WNBA season when she had nagging injuries, Atkins was named to the WNBA All-Defense Team every year, including her rookie season in 2018 through 2022. She is a decent three point shooter, making 1.7 per game at a 32.5 percent rate this season (and it is trending up).
Clark is not known for her defense. She was an offensive juggernaut in college at Iowa and is on track to do the same in the WNBA. I can’t think of one defensive team she made at Iowa. Also, Clark’s role on the Fever is easily replaceable on Team USA. Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu are on the team, are point guards, and are great at offense. Sure, Clark COULD grab a few more rebounds than Plum and Ionescu in a WNBA game … but A’ja Wilson will clean those boards up in a FIBA contest when all of them are TOGETHER wearing the same uniform!
In short, you can’t have enough defense, especially considering that Team USA almost lost to Belgium (and really should have lost to them) in the qualifiers last February. Having a lockdown player like Atkins can make a difference. I’m not sure adding another offense-first guard when there are many already does that.
And I’ll take it a step further. Players on a team need to know their role and do it well. Atkins has stuck to being a lower usage player in FIBA competition and will be an asset on defense. Clark will have a learning curve, and you don’t want that to be the reason why the Americans lose a game, right?
Team USA’s senior squad has more familiarity with Atkins than Clark
Again, Atkins has played for Team USA at the senior level in two world competitions. Clark has done nada. The players who are on Team USA can account for Atkins more easily than they would with Clark.
On top of that, look at the Team USA coaching staff. Team USA assistant coach Mike Thibault is the Mystics’ General Manager. He’ll be more familiar with Atkins too and I’ll leave it at that.
Again, right now, it’s hard to say whether Taurasi decides to continue with Team USA or not. But should Taurasi step down, I can’t think of a better player to take the spot for Team USA than Atkins.
Now, I’m not on the selection committee. But besides marketing and perhaps long term projections, I just don’t see how Clark beats Atkins for a hypothetical final spot. Do you agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments below.