Caitlin Clark May 22, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) in action against the Atlanta Dream in the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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Caitlin Clark was famously denied a chance to compete on Team USA in the Women’s 5-on-5 competition at the 2024 Paris Summer Games. But what some may not know is that despite this, Clark did have a chance to compete on Team USA in another capacity.

Recently, Christine Brennan, a sports columnist for USA Today, recently published a book on Clark, which revealed that Clark was actually asked to be a part of the Team USA 3-on-3 team. But ultimately, Clark turned down the chance to do so.

Once Clark turned down the opportunity, it was ultimately Cierra Burdick, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, and Hailey Van Lith that made up the 3-on-3 team, who ended up finishing with a bronze medal.

It’s fairly understandable why Clark opted to turn down this opportunity. While competing for Team USA in any way is obviously a huge honor, most saw Clark’s snub from the traditional 5-on-5 team, as a bit disrespectful given all that she did in short order for the WNBA as a league.

Maybe Clark felt a bit disrespected by the snub from the 5-on-5 team. Or, maybe Clark simply wanted to wait to get the full Olympics experience for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Either way, it is certainly interesting to think about whether Clark could perhaps have been an even bigger star than she is now if she had competed in the 2024 Summer Games. Or whether Team USA could have potentially gotten gold with Clark on the team.

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About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.