Mercury stars Griner, Taurasi, Copper look ahead to representing USA in Paris Olympics after All-Star Game
PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) — Following the WNBA All-Star Game on Sunday, three Phoenix Mercury players will join their Team USA teammates and fly to Paris to represent the Red, White and Blue in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi and Kahleah Copper are all on the U.S. team that will take on Team WNBA in the WNBA All-Star Game. They’ll likely use it as preparation for the high level of competition in the upcoming Olympics next week.
Sharing that experience with fellow Mercury teammates is likely to help on the international stage.
“They put me in a position to have success, so that’s why I’m grateful to experience being an Olympian with them,” Mercury small forward Kahleah Copper said.
The Americans, who haven’t lost an Olympic contest since 1992, won by an average of 16 points in the Tokyo Games. That was their smallest margin of victory since the streak started at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
The biggest challenge for the U.S. will once again be the limited prep time to practice as a unit. The complete team is together this weekend for the first time about a week before the Paris Games.
Diana Taurasi has been a part of the last five U.S. Olympic teams. She will be going for a record sixth gold medal in Paris.
“The rest of the world is definitely improving,” the 42-year-old guard said. “It’s not as easy as it’s looked over the years.”
Taurasi’s legacy is not lost on the younger players with the Team WNBA All-Stars.
“We’re just in awe of who she is as a person; her legacy and what she’s been able to accomplish with the USA but also in her career,” New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu said.
The U.S. is trying to break a tie with the American men’s basketball team for most consecutive gold medals. The men won seven straight from 1936-68. The two basketball teams hold the longest streak for golds in a traditional team sport in Olympic history.
The Paris Games will definitely be a special time for Brittney Griner, who is returning to the team for the Olympics. She missed the 2022 World Cup when she was wrongfully detained in Russia for 10 months. She has said that she’ll now only play overseas with USA Basketball.
“I’ve got my eyes on gold, being on that podium,” Griner said. “I want to feel that feeling again.”
The Americans are in a pool with Japan, Belgium and Germany. The Japanese team were silver medalists at the 2021 Tokyo Games. Group A features Serbia, Spain, China and Puerto Rico. Group B is comprised of Canada, France, Australia and Nigeria.
Play begins on July 28 and ends with the gold medal game on the final day of the Olympics.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
