While Trae Young's exclusion from Team USA attracted notice, interest in women's basketball was another conspicuous snub. Nneka Ogwumike, a 33-year-old WNBA veteran and Parker's former colleague with the LA Sparks, discovered herself on the outside looking in when it came to selection for the national team. Former WNBA Rookie of the Year and 8-time All-Star Ogwumike has had a distinguished career in the league thus far. She has won several awards, including MVP crowns and EuroLeague championships. She recently spoke about being left off of Team USA and the difficult selection process during an interview on the podcast Knuckleheads.
“I mean honestly you know they tell everyone the same thing. And it’s true it’s only 12 spots you know. It’s a hard team to make, it definitely is, it’s a hard team to make the work. That was the first time that I was like, let me just look at my resume real quick.”