By admin 
Despite playing without its best player, A’ja Wilson, the U.S. women’s basketball team got the job done and won the gold medal in the 2026 FIBA World Cup in Germany earlier this month.
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However, despite Team USA winning the championship and capturing a fifth consecutive World Cup title to match the tournament record set by the former Soviet Union, some Americans weren’t too happy with just the victory, with most, if not all of them, Caitlin Clark fans who felt that the Indiana Fever star wasn’t given enough opportunity to shine in the tournament.
Clark’s teammate and good buddy Sophie Cunningham thinks it’s ridiculous that people think that way.
“It’s insane,”
“Just be happy that USA went in there and got it done, and they got the gold, and they’re back here.”
Caitlin came off the bench in all six games
The main purpose of the WNBA’s short break before the playoffs was to allow its best players to travel to Germany and defend the World Cup basketball title, which they have won the last four times.
At first, there were doubts about whether they could do it after both A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum withdrew from the tournament due to injuries. But with a veteran core led by Breanna Stewart and the “Young and Turnt” trio of Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers, Americans were hopeful of keeping the gold.
However, in their six tournament games, head coach Kara Lawson never started Caitlin, even though CC led the team in assists while playing limited minutes. Lawson also gave Clark only the fifth-most minutes on the team, which angered her millions of fans and followers who believed she was the best point guard on the team. Sophie agreed.
“But I think anyone can make an argument that, like, yes, I’m biased probably because I love her and she’s my teammate, but I definitely thought C should have been starting. But then again, I’m not the coach. I don’t know what they have going on. We got the dub. That’s all that matters. We got the gold. Now they’re back. It’s four more games and playoffs,” she added.
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Skip also wanted Caitlin to start
One of the more prominent critics of Kara’s decision to keep Caitlin off the starting lineup was veteran sports analyst Skip Bayless, who was most especially critical of Team USA’s rotation during their semifinal game against Spain. According to Bayless, the Americans’ struggles at the start of that game and their inability to blow out the Spaniards were because of Lawson’s insistence on bringing Clark off the bench.
“Team USA’s 10-point win over Spain was closer than it needed to be. That’s because Caitlin Clark, the WNBA’s best player, should start, orchestrate and be featured more. But of course, Kara Lawson can’t risk a mutiny of veterans. This is all so petty, so dumb, so hard to watch,” Skip tweeted.
In that game, Team USA fell behind by 14 points early on but came back to win. Caitlin ended up playing 16 minutes in that game and finished with only one point and one assist. However, the Americans still won.
Clark once again came off the bench in the Finals against France, but Team USA blew out the team that was supposed to challenge them. As Sophie said, that’s what really matters.
Related: “She changed that game”: Patrick Beverley credited Caitlin Clark for Team USA’s FIBA gold comeback
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This story was originally published September 18, 2026 at 2:19 AM.