Caitlin Clark Reportedly Declined This Team USA Olympics Offer

One of the biggest stories in the women's basketball world in 2024 was Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark's (who was then a rookie) exclusion from the Team USA 5x5 women's basketball roster for the Paris Olympics.

This supposed snub sent shockwaves through the entire sport and sparked a ton of takes and debates about whether Clark was worthy, why she didn't secure a spot, and what her inclusion would have meant for women's basketball, given the added eyeballs she'd attract.

However, in USA Today reporter Christine Brennan's new book titled On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports (which comes out in July), Brennan reports that Clark actually turned down an offer to compete for Team USA in Paris — albeit on another team aside from 5x5.

"Clark did have another option to get to Paris: the US women’s 3x3 team. Even though she had never played on a national 3x3 team (she had experience on U.S. under-16 and under-19 5x5 teams), USA Basketball offered her a spot on the 3x3 team well before June, knowing there was a qualifying event for her to play in to become eligible for the Olympics, according to two sources with knowledge of those conversations," Brennan wrote in the book, as excerpted in a June 23 article from PEOPLE.

The excerpt later adds, "Nonetheless, USA Basketball was asking: Was this a possibility?  

"Did Clark want to go to Paris on this U.S. team?

"The answer from Clark and her team was simple: No. She did not want to play 3x3 basketball at the Olympics," it continued.