Meet the 12 Women Off to Vie For US Basketball's Seventh Straight Olympic Gold
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The US Olympic women's basketball team has officially been named ahead of the Tokyo Games this summer. In a Monday-morning Today show appearance, legendary coach Dawn Staley, along with legends in their own right Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, announced the 12-person roster. The talented group is packed with veteran players and Olympic newbies alike, and they will be aiming to win the country's seventh consecutive — and ninth overall — gold medal.
"I know you show a roster full of 12 players, there are a lot of players that aren't on this list that have helped us," Staley noted after the announcement, adding that you need a "great mix" of athletes. She stated that combining now-five-time Olympians Bird and Taurasi and other experienced players (two-time Olympian Tina Charles and 2016 Olympians Breanna Stewart and Brittney Griner, for instance) with youthful athletes is essential. "We don't want to be the team that ends that streak of gold-medal winnings," Staley said.
US Olympic Women's Basketball Team Roster For Tokyo 2021
- Ariel Atkins
- Sue Bird
- Tina Charles
- Napheesa Collier
- Skylar Diggins-Smith
- Sylvia Fowles
- Chelsea Gray
- Brittney Griner
- Jewell Loyd
- Breanna Stewart
- Diana Taurasi
- A'ja Wilson
Ahead, check out more about each player on the US Olympic women's basketball team just weeks before they fly overseas to go — and go hard — for gold.
To learn more about all the Olympic hopefuls, visit TeamUSA.org. The Tokyo Olympics begin July 23 on NBC.
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Ariel Atkins
Atkins was drafted seventh overall to the WNBA in 2018 after four years at the University of Texas in Austin. She has one WNBA championship title under her belt that she earned in 2019 with the Washington Mystics. This will be Atkins's first Olympic Games. You can check out her USA Basketball profile here.
Age: 24
Current WNBA Team: Washington Mystics
Position: Guard
Instagram: @iamarielatkins
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Sue Bird
Bird, engaged to soccer's Megan Rapinoe, is a four-time Olympic veteran who has brought home a gold medal with every Olympic appearance. She is the only basketball player ever — among men and women — to win four World Cup titles, and with her fourth WNBA championship victory last October, she became the only WNBA player to claim championship wins in three different decades. Check out her USA Basketball profile here.
Age: 40
Current WNBA Team: Seattle Storm
Position: Guard
Instagram: @sbird10
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Tina Charles
Charles has won three World Cup gold medals and two Olympic gold medals. She founded the Hopey's Heart Foundation in April 2013 in honor of her aunt Maureen "Hopey" Vaz, who passed away that year of multiple organ failure. The foundation raises awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and funds the placement of automated external defibrillators in schools and other locations. Check out her USA Basketball profile here.
Age: 32
Current WNBA Team: Washington Mystics
Position: Center
Instagram: @tina31charles
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Napheesa Collier
Collier, a UConn graduate, won a gold medal at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in three-on-three basketball and was drafted sixth overall to the WNBA in 2019. She was originally considered for the first-ever USA Basketball three-on-three Olympic team before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This will be her debut Olympic Games. You can check out her USA Basketball profile here.
Age: 24
Current WNBA Team: Minnesota Lynx
Position: Guard/forward
Instagram: @napheesa24
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Skylar Diggins-Smith
Diggins-Smith, a mom of one, will be playing in her very first Olympic Games. She earned a gold medal at the FIBA 3x3 World Championship in 2012. Check out her USA Basketball profile here.
Age: 30
Current WNBA Team: Phoenix Mercury
Position: Guard
Instagram: @skylardigginssmith
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Sylvia Fowles
Fowles broke the WNBA's career rebounds record back in July 2020, surpassing current Minnesota Lynx assistant coach Rebekkah Brunson. This will be Fowles's fourth Olympic Games. Check out her USA Basketball profile here.
Age: 35
Current WNBA Team: Minnesota Lynx
Position: Center
Instagram: @sylvia_fowles
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Chelsea Gray
Gray, who won a WNBA championship in 2016 with the Los Angeles Sparks, will be heading to her first Olympic Games. She also plays professionally overseas. Check out her USA Basketball profile here.
Age: 28
Current WNBA Team: Las Vegas Aces
Position: Guard
Instagram: @cgray209
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Brittney Griner
Griner is a two-time Wold Cup gold medalist who won the 2014 WNBA title with the Phoenix Mercury. This will be Griner's second Olympic Games. Check out her USA Basketball profile here.
Age: 30
Current WNBA Team: Phoenix Mercury
Position: Center
Instagram: @brittneyyevettegriner
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Jewell Loyd
Loyd, a two-time WNBA champion, also plays professionally overseas during the offseason. She is known as the Gold Mamba, a nickname Kobe Bryant gave her when she turned pro, according to Sports Illustrated. This will be Loyd's first Olympic Games. Check out her USA Basketball profile here.
Age: 27
Current WNBA Team: Seattle Storm
Position: Guard
Instagram: @jewellloyd
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Breanna Stewart
In 2016, Stewart was the first overall WNBA draft pick. Later that year, she was named the WNBA rookie of the year. She is a two-time WNBA champion who competed at the Olympics for Team USA in Rio. She's engaged to Marta Xargay Casademont, a Spanish pro basketball player. Check out Stewart's USA Basketball profile here.
Age: 26
Current WNBA Team: Seattle Storm
Position: Forward/center
Instagram: @breannastewart30
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Diana Taurasi
This will be Taurasi's fifth Olympic Games, and she's won a gold medal at every Olympics she's been to so far. She also has three gold medals from World Cups over the years and has scored the most points out of any athlete in the WNBA, surpassing Tina Thompson in 2017. Check out her USA Basketball profile here.
Age: 39
Current WNBA Team: Phoenix Mercury
Position: Guard
Instagram: @dianataurasi
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A'ja Wilson
Wilson spent a stellar four years as a South Carolina Gamecock and has a statue on the university grounds to prove it. She founded the A'ja Wilson Foundation in 2019 to provide grant opportunities and resources for children with dyslexia. This will be her first Olympics. Check out her USA Basketball profile here.
Age: 24
Current WNBA Team: Las Vegas Aces
Position: Forward
Instagram: @aja22wilson