Paige Beuckers on officiating and player safety in WNBA
Paige Bueckers talks at WNBA All-Star media availability about the officiating in the WNBA and player safety.
Sports Seriously
Managing director of Team USA Sue Bird had to make some tough phone calls to make before the reveal of Team USA on Thursday, Aug. 6.
She had to tell several players they didn’t make the cut to compete in the 2026 FIBA World Cup in Berlin, Germany.
“Just kind of understanding what that moment is like, trying to treat it with the respect it deserves,” Bird said. “Share the news. Be honest. Say it. Be upfront. And so that’s what I tried to do. And every player was incredibly respectful, incredibly professional. I can’t say enough about them.”
On NBC’s Today Show on Thursday morning, Bird unveiled the roster of 12 players that Kara Lawson will be coaching at the World Cup in less than a month. The Americans will be aiming to win their fifth consecutive title.
The roster includes WNBA All-Stars, from former MVPs in A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, to seasoned veterans like Chelsea Gray and Napheesa Collier, to rising stars Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese. Team USA will be widely viewed as the favorite with a roster that features 58 combined WNBA All-Star appearances.
But there were noticeable exclusions from the team. The two absences that stood out the most were Sabrina Ionescu and Olivia Miles.
Ionescu was one of the players that Bird said she called personally. The University of Oregon product who is now a point guard for the New York Liberty was a key part of Team USA squads that won the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics.
“For Sabrina, for really all players who received calls, I just wanted to reiterate that this is a very tough roster to make,” Bird said. “I don’t view it as a reflection of their play.”
Ionescu is having a solid season, averaging 16.2 points, 4.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 42.5% from the floor, 32.9% from 3-point land and 91.3% from the free-throw line. But she didn’t make the All-Star team this year and has missed 12 games due to injuries.
Back in 2022 and 2024, Ionescu wasn’t competing with the likes of Clark and Bueckers for a spot amongst Team USA’s guards. Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard is also having a standout season — leading the WNBA in minutes played and steals — and will make her World Cup debut this year as well.
“Every player deserves the right to hear it, whether it’s a yes or a no from me,” Bird said. “It’s not a reflection of who they are as players. There’s so many players that have earned the right to be on this team. And for Sabrina, a player that has already been on this team, she understands what it is to wear the jersey… It’s about making choices for those that I think are going to be part of the (roster) to win a gold medal and complement each other.”
While Ionescu is a veteran of Team USA who has plenty of experience representing the stars and stripes in international competitions, Miles has yet to feature for the senior national team at an Olympics, World Cup or qualifying tournament. She did play for Lawson last summer in the AmeriCup when she was in college, but hasn’t received an invite to a national team camp in the past year.
Expect that to change for Miles heading into the 2028 Olympics. The No. 2 overall draft pick this year out of TCU, she has lit up the WNBA as the Minnesota Lynx point guard, averaging 19.7 points, 5.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 50.2% from the floor, 38% from 3-point land and 87.5% from the free-throw line.
Widely seen as the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, a contender for league MVP and a near-lock to make first-team All-WNBA, Miles ranks ninth in the league in assists, 10th in scoring and fourth in win shares.
“Olivia is a tremendous player. So much fun to watch. It’s been amazing watching her grow in this league. She’s such a great young player,” Bird said. “As far as Olivia goes, she’s played with USA basketball before. She will undoubtedly be in the mix for teams in the future.”
Other veterans of Team USA who didn’t make the cut for the World Cup roster include Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd, Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas and Connecticut Sun center Brittney Griner — all of whom helped the Americans win the gold medal in France at the 2024 Olympics. All three are over the age of 32. Gray is the oldest player on this Team USA roster at 33 years old.
Also left off the team were the young trio starring for the Washington Mystics of Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin. Iriafen and Austin both rank in the top six in rebounds per game this WNBA season while Citron is averaging 17.1 points per game. Austin last played for the senior national team at the 2022 World Cup while Iriafen played for the Americans in March in the World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico.
“We can all agree the hardest part, which is a problem I would never trade, is that we have so much talent,” Bird said. “The beauty of that is it means almost all players are wanting to be on this team, willing to be on this team. It is a sacrifice. It is a time commitment.”