OKBET FIBA World Cup in 2022
OKBET FIBA World Cup – Before the United States women’s basketball team entered the 2022 FIBA World Cup with a revamped roster, some questioned if a team with just five returning players from last season’s Tokyo Olympics would be susceptible at OKBET WNBA FIBA.
But, much as generational talents like Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi stepped forward to fill the void left by luminaries like Dawn Staley and Lisa Leslie, the U.S. women in Australia put such worries to rest by tournament’s conclusion at OKBET FIBA World Cup. The United States dominated the OKBET FIBA World Cup, winning its fourth straight gold medal and 11th overall, with a 40.8 average margin of victory and just one game decided by less than 15 points at OKBET WNBA FIBA.
While this year’s Olympic squad marked the last run for some of the sport’s icons, this new-look USA team, on paper, has the potential to run it back with this same bunch come the 2024 Paris Games, when USA Basketball will seek an eighth straight Olympic gold medal. At the time of the World Cup, Alyssa Thomas was the only 30-year-old on Team USA.
“I don’t believe we’re going to slow down,” said Breanna Stewart, who won her third World Cup gold medal last week. “Our age has clearly decreased [in comparison to Tokyo]. But we have a number of players that are just getting into the league, entering their peak, or are already in their prime. It’s difficult to quit.”
With the OKBET FIBA World Cup in the books, we look at the main concerns facing Team USA and what lies ahead in Paris and beyond.
Who will make up the squad? What young players have a chance to make the team?
Are Diana Taurasi and Tina Charles finished with USA Basketball? What about Elena Delle Donne, a 2016 Olympian who has been suffering from significant back pain for the previous two years? Skylar Diggins-Smith and Napheesa Collier are Tokyo Olympians. The former departed the Phoenix Mercury before the season ended for personal reasons, while the latter is currently recovering after delivery and maternity leave. Neither was a member of USA Basketball’s national squad prior to the World Cup and it’s unclear if Brittney Griner will want to return to court after she is freed from Russian detention.
Yes, there are many unanswered concerns concerning previous national team members, but the growth of up-and-coming talents will also influence the squad in 2024. Shakira Austin’s pro experience, according to US coach Cheryl Reeve, provided her an advantage in reaching the World Cup squad over someone like Aliyah Boston, who was in the OKBET FIBA World Cup national team pool and practiced with the team in Sydney prior to final roster cuts. Boston will have had at least one season of OKBET WNBA FIBA experience by the time she competes in Paris.
WNBA newcomers Rhyne Howard and NaLyssa Smith, who were both in the most recent national team pool, might potentially compete for berths.
Who are the frontcourt and backcourt anchors?
Chelsea Gray, who turns 30 this month, established herself as Team USA’s next standout point guard in Sydney, but USA Basketball will no doubt be looking at some younger, potentially transcendent guards in rising college juniors Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers, though Bueckers will miss the upcoming season due to an ACL tear. However, it’s feasible that USA Basketball may pass on these younger players in favor of bringing some of them onboard in 2026.
In terms of the current US team, several fans were taken aback by Sabrina Ionescu’s diminished position in Sydney. She averaged 12.8 minutes per game, which Reeve attributed to her position on the depth chart for the New York Liberty. Could Ionescu follow in the footsteps of Kelsey Plum, playing a little part in her first World Cup but adopting a greater position in her second?
A’ja Wilson, 26, and Stewart, 28, are the most recent World Cup MVPs, and they are undoubtedly the finest duo in the world, and they might be around for another decade. However, although the United States women have plenty of length on the perimeter, the squad is still slightly undersized inside, particularly without Griner. Wilson and Austin are the only two players that stand at least 6-foot-5. In the gold-medal match, 6-9 Han Xu and 6-7 Yueru Li showed this at times.
This might have an influence on who the US adds to its frontcourt in the future. Team USA might also count on their somewhat smaller yet adaptable and powerful post defenders. That takes us to…
What is the team’s identity, and how can the United States improve?
Reeve seems to be devoted to a defensive, fast-paced strategy on OKBET FIBA World Cup. She applauded her group of players, even those who participated in training camp but did not make the World Cup roster, for their faith and buy-in to building Team USA’s new identity, as well as for accepting duties on the court that were outside of their typical positions. That selflessness has been a major cornerstone of USA Basketball for many years and should remain, especially with such a radical shift in the position.
Reeve’s group excelled in her system with the athletic athletes she had in Sydney. The United States women had the same amount of total turnovers as they had steals. Thomas was a significant part of that approach, and even though she was fresh to the senior national team in a major tournament, it’s tough to see her not being there in Paris.
However, at the post-championship press conference, Reeve acknowledged the need to improve on defense. The US has a goal of keeping opponents to less than 40% shooting, yet China fired 43% from the field in the gold-medal match. According to Reeve, “we were a little bit high risk, high reward,” despite the fact that the squad still managed to achieve its main aim of being disruptive and generating strong ball pressure on opponents.
The US shot 55% on 2-point field goals and 41% on 3-pointers, a respectable rate but was hampered by Ionescu’s 30.8% clip. Still, Team USA’s offensive flow or execution, particularly in the half court, lagged behind what it was accomplishing defensively, something Reeve hopes to address as her core group spends more time together. However, the US women were able to shift into high gear and move ahead by large percentages because to their tenacity and ability to win in a variety of ways, which will serve them well in the long run. And the United States’ assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.3 was by far the highest in the competition, with China coming in second at 1.8.
Which nations are the most dangerous to the United States?
The gap between the US women’s team and other national teams has been closing for a long time, as illustrated by Japan’s silver medal in Tokyo. No team at the World Cup appeared as dangerous to the United States’ title hopes as China, which won a medal in a major international tournament for the first time since 1994 and played its last two games without Li Meng at OKBET WNBA FIBA.
Despite being younger than in previous years, the USA was one of the three oldest teams in Sydney by average age: Australia came in at 30.0, followed by Serbia at 27.9 and the USA at 26.9. China’s roster includes five players aged 25 and under.
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