Team USA still team to beat at FIBA World Cup dont let new faces fool you

The next era of USA Basketball arrived in Berlin with a new look, a new feel and, perhaps most importantly, a new generation in line to carry the heavy weight of the red, white and blue. The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup opens Friday in Germany, with the past and future of USA Basketball sharing the court as the Americans open the competition against China. This isn’t just another title defense.It is the first major stress test of what’s to come next for USA Basketball. This iteration of Team USA represents the clearest changing of guards American women’s basketball has seen in decades.

It’s younger, less experienced and, in the words of Paige Bueckers, more “turnt.” The newcomers are headlined by Caitlin Clark, Bueckers and Angel Reese. The veteran mainstays include Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Kahleah Copper, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray, who, at 33, is the oldest on the roster. The youth movement became even more pronounced when injuries ruled out A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum earlier this week, resulting in Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron being called up. Even amid this transition period, the global throne remains America’s to lose. The 2026 roster is relatively inexperienced by Team USA standards.Only three players have competed in a World Cup before, leaving nine Americans in this tournament for the first time. Six players are under 25: Clark, Bueckers, Reese, Iriafen, Citron and Aliyah Boston. In the sports world, this level of personnel turnover and youth injection would be deemed a “rebuild,” which almost always comes with tempered expectations. While it’s an unusual situation for the U.S., anything short of another World Cup title would be viewed as a disappointment. Team USA is undoubtedly the team to beat even though the competition at the international level arguably has never been better. “That’s an obvious statement that the world is improving,” USA Basketball head coach Kara Lawson told reporters ea...