By admin 
The United States women’s basketball team silenced its critics with a dominant 97-79 victory over France in the championship game of the 2026 FIBA World Cup last Sunday in Germany.
Read more How often do Shreveport council members miss meetings?
As with some of their games, Team USA started slow and the French took advantage by building an early 14-point lead. However, the Americans slowly but surely came back and found themselves down by just 2 points at the half before exploding with a dominant third-quarter performance that blew the game wide open.
But despite the big win over an opponent that was supposed to give them problems, former NBA player Etan Thomas said that not every American is happy with Team USA’s victory. According to Thomas, fans of Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark are furious over her limited role on the team during the entire tournament.
“USA won gold. But somehow, for some fans, that still wasn’t enough because Caitlin Clark didn’t get enough shots or shine. When rooting for one player becomes more important than rooting for the TEAM, it was never really about Team USA,”wrote Thomas on ‘X.’
Limited minutes and limited shots
Playing in the World Cup marked the first time that Clark made the national team. And because she’s having an MVP-type season in the WNBA, her fans expected her to feature in the national team. However, head coach Kara Lawson’s strategy was to let the team’s veterans take the lead, leaving CC with less playing time and fewer scoring chances.
Although CC ranked 5th on the team in minutes, she came off the bench in all games, averaged only 6.5 field-goal attempts per game and could not get into an offensive rhythm.
As a result, Clark shot just 35.9 percent from the field and a more miserable 28 percent from 3-point distance. She played well in her limited role in the title game, scoring 12 points in 13 minutes while making 4 of 5 shots. Still, Thomas claims her cult of followers was disappointed.
“It’s crazy that the USA team beat France by 20 points, but the Caitlin Clark mob is upset that CC didn’t play out their dream scenario and carry the team all by herself. Y’all are something else smh. But congratulations to the entire TEAM for winning the gold,” he added in another tweet.
Read more China bank loans rise less than expected in August after July slump
Related: Bill Maher on the biggest difference between WNBA and NBA: “A soap opera”
Kara Lawson deserves her flowers
When Etan says CC Fans are not happy, the source of their unhappiness was Team USA head coach Kara Lawson. Despite their pleas and after Caitlin’s impressive debut against China, Lawson insisted on starting veteran guards Chelsea Gray and Jackie Young in the Americans’ backcourt.
However, with Gray and Young playing big, along with Breana Stewart, in the title game, many praised Lawson for not bending to CC fans and for insisting on her strategy.
“Give Kara Lawson her flowers. First time. No A’ja. Stuck to her guns with her vet lineup despite the dumbest people telling her to abandon it. High pressure and the closest thing to an underdog game Team USA has had in like ever and was perfect,”tweeted ESPN analyst David Dennis Jr.
Dennis is right. Lawson received criticism from CC fans not only after every game but every day. But despite the pressure, she chose to stick with her game plan. And whether Caitlin’s cult likes it or not, it was that veteran unit that led the way in the gold medal game. Now that only made them even more agitated.
Related: “I’m taking this over” – Caitlin Clark’s AAU coach recalls her guaranteeing a win down 13 with a minute left
Read more Her daughter was born via surrogacy. For 2 years, the state didn’t recognize her as a mom
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published September 14, 2026 at 1:56 AM.