Aug 11, 2024; Paris, France; United States shooting guard Diana Taurasi (12) and guard Jackie Young (13) celebrate on the podium after defeating France in the women's gold medal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Diana Taurasi Opens up on Benching by Cheryl Reeve in 2024 Olympics Gold Medal Game

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Robin Lundberg | Last updated Aug 7, 2025 1:57 PM ET

The 2024 USA Women's Basketball Team did not win yet another gold medal without a challenge—and some controversy.

The latter mainly revolving around then Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark not being selected to the squad. Clark's omission from the roster led to seemingly endless debate, and questions about the powers that be for Team USA.

One central figure in that story was Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, who was the head coach of the eventual gold medal winners. Though Reeve was not a part of the selection committee in an official capacity, fans still wondered whether she had any influence in the decision.

Which is one reason Clark trading Reeve as coach before the WNBA All-Star Game amused many observers.

TRADE ALERT

Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier have decided to trade COACHES!

That means Cheryl Reeve will now coach Team Collier and Sandy Brondello will lead Team Clark

2025 @ATT WNBA All-Star pic.twitter.com/LtcZs273SY
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 8, 2025

However, now something Reeve definitely had control of during that time period has become a bit of a conversation—Diana Taurasi's playing time, or lack thereof, in the decisive gold medal win over France.

Diana Taurasi 'Confused' by Gold Medal Benching

The recently retired WNBA legend has a new three-part docu-series about her that's titled "Taurasi," which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on August 7.

The series has already made headlines due to Taurasi's blunt take on WNBA pay, but there is another bit that is raising eyebrows as well.

"I’m the best player in the world, and I have to go to a communist country to get paid like a capitalist."

Taurasi premieres tomorrow on Prime Video. pic.twitter.com/64HU21zoOQ
— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) August 6, 2025

Taurasi spoke on not getting off the pine for Team USA in the decisive 67-66 win over France, and she didn't exactly seem to love the decision.

"I'm confused by what happened," Taurasi said.

"I never got, 'Hey, you're not going to play because we're going this direction.' Sounds good, I can live with that," she added per a recap of the series by Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.

Cheryl https://t.co/RVBm3dhd0O pic.twitter.com/ZiGm9tGB8L
— MK ‍♀️ (@squintsNY) August 7, 2025

Taurasi went on to say how she didn't feel like she really earned the gold this time around, which was not the case for her other five wins.

Sue Bird also gave her own account of bewilderment, expressing the sentiment that the gold medal contest was the reason Taurasi was selected in the first place.

Funny enough, Bird has since been named the managing director of the USA Women's Basketball National Team.

Of course, Taurasi being on the roster was not without controversy in the first place, which dovetails with the aforementionded Clark snub conversation.

But after she opened up about her feelings on not seeing the floor, both fans of Taurasi and Clark could have something in common when discussing Reeve.

This article first appeared on Women's Fastbreak on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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