Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale told the “Nightcap” podcast in an episode released Thursday that she pulled her name from the pool for the U.S. women's Olympic basketball team “months ago” and that she believes “politics” enter the team selection. .
The 12-member women's 5-on-5 team for the Paris Games was announced Tuesday. The most talked about players who didn't make it were Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark and Ogunbowale, who has been one of the league's leading scorers during her six WNBA seasons, all with Dallas.
“Being me, I just felt the vibes,” Ogunbowale said of how she thought USA Basketball was evaluating her. “When it comes to those things, it really doesn't have much to do with your game. It really comes down to who they feel fits on the team. That goes for the men's side as well.
“The committees say they are looking for people who… I don't know, honestly. But I already knew. In fact, I took my name out of the group months ago. With the group, it's a big commitment. If I know, they won't elect me, no I'm going to keep going to these. [camps] When I know the vibe. “I'm not going to give you my time if I know the vibe.”
Speaking to podcast hosts Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Ogunbowale said there is so much talent in the WNBA that several players could be Olympians.
“It's subjective who they think should be on the team; everyone is great in the WNBA,” she said. “So who they pick is who they pick, I can't really control that.”
The shooting guard position has a lot of depth on this Olympic team. It is led by six-time Olympian Diana Taurasi of Phoenix and two-time Olympians Jewell Loyd (Seattle), Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum (all with Las Vegas). The other US team guard is Sabrina Ionescu of New York, who is in her first Olympic Games.
Ogunbowale is the top scoring point guard in the WNBA. Her 24.9 points per game are second only to Aces forward A'ja Wilson's 28.0. Wilson will play in her second Olympic Games.
Over the years, some players have said they believed college and professional connections could influence who would make the U.S. team. Ogunbowale won a national championship at Notre Dame in 2018 and was the fifth pick in the 2019 WNBA draft.
“I can't really talk about USA Basketball in general,” Ogunbowale said. “But just when I think about women's basketball…politics always surround it. Whether it's USA Basketball, the All-Star teams, [All-WNBA] In the first team, there is politics. “There are politics in everything.”
A USA Basketball official confirmed to ESPN on Saturday that Ogunbowale withdrew his name from consideration for the Olympics. USA Basketball did not comment on Ogunbowale's comments about “politics” being part of the national team.
In an interview with ESPN on Tuesday, USA Basketball selection committee chairwoman Jennifer Rizzotti said the only criteria for choosing Olympic athletes is to field the best team possible. She said the six-member committee did not talk about things like where a player went to college, what professional team she is on or her age.
“What we would discuss was the player's job and why he deserved to be on the team,” Rizzotti said.
If they are selected as All-Stars, Ogunbowale and Clark could have the opportunity to face the Olympians before traveling to Paris. The WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix on July 20 will pit Team USA against a team of other WNBA All-Stars.
That was also the case in 2021 and Ogunbowale earned All-Star Game MVP honors with 26 points as the WNBA team beat Team USA 93-85 in Las Vegas.
