Team USA basketball recently announced its roster for the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which takes place later this week in Antwerp, Belgium. While the roster is loaded with WNBA legends, many people were surprised to see that Brittney Griner wasn't selected for Team USA this time around.
Considering that Griner is the consensus best center in the WNBA, the former Baylor legend not being included on the qualifying roster raises some questions — especially given that Griner has been a Team USA mainstay, having already won two Olympic gold medals for the Stars & Stripes.
All eyes on Antwerp ?
The ?? #USABWNT roster for the #FIBAOQT is set! pic.twitter.com/SgjjM4pPIH
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) February 4, 2024
Yet, there are a few potential reasons why we won't see Griner in Antwerp this weekend. One is that Team USA's qualifying tournament roster is just that: the roster for the Olympic qualifiers, not the actual Olympic games.
Given how loaded Team USA's roster already is for Antwerp, it won't need Griner in order to secure its Olympics spot. There will surely be some changes made to the actual Paris Olympics roster — which we assume will also include Griner.
A few other notable absences from the current roster — such as A'ja Wilson, who is likely sitting out the qualifier in order to promote her new book, "Dear Black Girls," which releases Tuesday — ensures that Griner needn't worry about this current Team USA iteration being the roster's final version.
Also of note is that the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament is taking place in Europe. Given the horrors that Griner faced when traveling overseas back in 2022, perhaps she doesn't feel ready to get on a plane and fly across the Atlantic so soon after her Russian detainment came to an end.
Then again, the 2024 Olympic Games take place in Paris. So if Griner is in fact hesitant to make that flight, she'll need to reckon with that soon if she's to perform in Paris.
All of which is to say that Griner being left off the qualifying tournament roster doesn't necessarily mean she won't be suiting up for Team USA when it really counts.
Even without Griner (or Wilson), the insane roster that Team USA is taking to Antwerp bodes well for the U.S. Olympic hopes.
