Your Day in Women’s Basketball, October 14: Olympic basketball adds question marks to 2021 WNBA season
By James Hyman
How will 2021 Olympics impact the WNBA season?
When the Summer Olympics were postponed in early spring, many important decisions for WNBA players and coaches alike were also delayed a year. Every four years the WNBA season is interrupted due to the Olympic games, where some players travel to the host country to compete for a medal and others have an extended break and month-long practice session.
The Olympics force tough decisions on where athletes want to devote their time, especially for international players. Washington Mystics forward Emma Meesseman has not even committed playing in the 2021 WNBA season due to her commitment to the Belgian National team.
This poses a challenge to the Mystics who have to include the Olympics in their decision on how much to re-sign Meesseman for.
Another aspect of the Tokyo Olympics for fans to look forward to is the first ever 3-on-3 tournament. Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier was looking forward to the change of pace in play, with only 12 seconds on the shot clock and more floor space per player, the strategies could be vastly different from what we are typically used to.
She was also obviously disappointed because, like so many other athletes, it was supposed to be her first Olympic run. Hopefully players in this position can avoid serious injury so they are able to compete like they originally planned.
Speaking of Olympics success, The Next recently caught up with Olympian Katrina McClain. The two-time gold medalist in 1988 and 1996 was a pioneer of the women’s game and is continuing her passion for furthering the careers of young girls not only on the court, but off of it as well. This is exemplified by work as a career coach and summer programs related to building self-esteem.
If the pandemic is handled better in the coming year, both the WNBA season and the Olympics will provide an exciting summer of basketball in 2021.