The Unrivaled season may be over, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t great basketball to watch. The college season is still in full swing, and Team USA will send a star-studded team to the World Cup qualifying tournament in a few days.
Several young stars are set to make their senior national team debut in Puerto Rico. For Caitlin Clark, it will also be her first game back in action since an injury-filled 2025 season with the Indiana Fever. But playing for the national team is much different than playing in the W or Unrivaled. This is a team full of stars, so not everyone will get a chance to produce as much as they usually do—something the players are already well aware of, but fans must also learn to accept.
“Everybody’s not going to be able to score 20,” Angel Reese told the media. “So, just being able to come in here and find my niche of what I can do specifically…that I can always bring to the table, is going to be important.”
Not everyone can play like a star on Team USA
Playing for the best women’s basketball national team in the world requires sacrifice, especially from young stars who are still new to this stage.
For example, it’s not crazy to expect Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers to come off the bench. The roster for the tournament in Puerto Rico features a lot of veteran talent in the backcourt with Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Rhyne Howard, and Kahleah Copper. Gray, Young, Plum, and Copper all played at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Likewise, Angel Reese and Kiki Iriafen may not play as big a role as fans are used to seeing them fill with the Sky and Mystics.
But that’s what it takes to make a team full of stars work, so if any of the young stars on the team don’t score a lot or see limited minutes, that is no reason to freak out, pit them against each other, or brutally bash them on social media.
It should be a great tournament
The U.S. already qualified for the World Cup, but the tournament in Puerto Rico is a great opportunity to build chemistry and show the rest of the world how much young talent there is in the USA Basketball pool.
It will also offer an in-person glance at Awa Fam from Spain, who may or may not be the number-one pick in the upcoming draft.
Moreover, the tournament and the World Cup will be broadcast on TNT, adding a new layer of visibility to the international women’s game.