USA Basketball announced its women’s national team training camp roster for mid-December in Durham, North Carolina. It features 19 players, including rising stars and Olympic veterans.

The accompanying promotional graphic, however, spotlighted only three Olympic gold medalists—Kahleah Copper, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young.

Nowhere to be found was the one player whom fans would actually like to see. The one WNBA star who might draw interest to the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup, or later, the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

Of the women on this roster, who do you think should have been prominently featured somewhere: Copper, Plum, Young, Lauren Betts, Aliyah Boston, Cameron Brink, Paige Bueckers, Veronica Burton, Sonia Citron, Caitlin Clark, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Dearica Hamby, Kiki Iriafen, Rickea Jackson, Brionna Jones, Angel Reese, or JuJu Watkins?

Well, it was Clark that fans noticed being omitted despite her inclusion on the roster. They weren’t too happy about it.

Caitlin Clark missing

Was Caitlin Clark’s omission intentional? Fans erupted in criticism online, accusing the organization of deliberately erasing the Indiana Fever star from the spotlight amid her massive popularity.

“Leaving the picture of the most popular female athlete on the planet sure is an interesting marketing choice,” one fan wrote on X. “At least women’s basketball is consistent.”

Can you imagine a promotional poster for the Dream Team that doesn’t feature Michael Jordan?

“Nothing says WNBA like a poster featuring….ummmm who are these players again?” another quipped.

“It never gets old that the most popular player in the league is left off posters like this… can you imagine leaving Magic or Jordan off a poster?” another fan responded. “You all need to wake up!!!”

“While all these players are amazing and some may be better than CC- this is marketing 101.”

Team USA, as per usual, failed the class.

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History of controversy

This snub echoes the backlash from Caitlin Clark’s exclusion from the Paris Olympics team last year, where she was overlooked in favor of more experienced players.

It’s dumb, really. Shades of that original NBA Dream Team going with Christian Laettner over Shaquille O’Neal. You had a stacked roster already, and while Laettner’s accomplishments at the time exceeded those of Shaq, it was clear the Big Aristotle was about to take off in the NBA. Plus, his unique stature would have been an incredible sight to see against players from other countries.

At least with the Dream Team, there was already interest and hype based on the great players. There is no interest or hype for Team USA women’s basketball. Clark needs to be the main face on every single piece of promotional material, no questions asked.

There was a lot of controversy over Caitlin Clark not making the 2024 Paris Olympics team. Team USA claimed they wanted experience on the squad, and some veterans were worried that Clark’s fans wouldn’t be happy with her getting limited minutes.

So they decided to keep her off the roster altogether. Brilliant!

Now that she’s involved in the women’s national team training camp, they still clearly have no idea what to do with her.