USA Basketball managing director Sue Bird finally addressed Olivia Miles’ omission from Team USA’s 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup roster. The Minnesota Lynx rookie has been having quite an outstanding WNBA season, but was surprisingly left off the 12-player squad.
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In a remote press conference posted to YouTube by reporter Scott Agness, Sue Bird explained the rationale behind the players’ selection for the roster.
“Olivia, tremendous player. So much fun to watch. It’s been amazing watching her grow in this league…It’s a talented pool of players. We know people are going to get left off. She’s (Miles) such a great young player… As far as Olivia goes, she’s played with USA basketball before. She will undoubtedly be in the mix for teams in the future.”
As Bird reiterated, Olivia Miles has been one of the best-performing players in the WNBA this season despite being a rookie. Through 29 games with the Minnesota Lynx, Miles is averaging 19.7 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting an efficient 50.2% from the field and anchoring the Lynx to the top of the league standings. Her stellar play also recently earned her a third consecutive WNBA Rookie of the Month honor for July.
However, as Sue Bird pointed out, the players who made the roster are also deserving in their own right. With only 12 spots available, there will be several talented players who miss out on selection because of the limited roster size.
“This is the roster that I and all of us at USA Basketball want to and will be taking to Berlin, obviously barring injury. You guys know it’s a talented pool of players. We know people are going to get left off.”
Sue Bird also addressed the speculation that Olivia Miles not participating in recent senior national team evaluation camps because she was finishing her final college season was the deciding factor behind her omission.
“In terms of criteria, there is no rule that you have to be in a camp. What being in camps, we went to Puerto Rico for the qualifier. What that does is it allows me and everybody else to see these players in the USA basketball environment. It allows us to see them under Cara Lawson in her system. So, of course, it’s an important piece. It’s not a necessity. It’s not a requirement.”
The official 12-woman roster for the tournament in Berlin, Germany, was announced on Thursday. The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup will officially tip off on September 4 and run through September 13, 2026. To accommodate the 10-day tournament, the WNBA will pause its season from August 31 through September 16.
Team USA has been the most dominant team in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. They have won the tournament a record 11 times out of 19 editions played so far. The hope is that this selected group of players can show that dominance again by bringing another gold medal home.
Sue Bird Explains Rationale Behind Team USA’s World Cup Roster Decisions
As Sue Bird explained in her press conference, the rationale behind the player selection was simply the desire to assemble a balanced mix. One look at the roster will show that the selection process followed by Bird and her team has been ideal for a winning team, even without Olivia Miles.
Bird addressed her team’s rationale behind picking these players and what makes the selected roster the best possible for the upcoming FIBA tournament.
“Just wanting to have a good mixture of people with experience, of people with youth. Obviously, that sets us up for the future as well. But also a team that complements each other and can go on the court and win gold. And that’s always the north star in all these decisions that I’ve made. Putting together a roster that complements each other, has a cohesiveness, can play Kara (national team coach Kara Lawson)’s style, and go out there and get a gold.”
The official 12-player roster for Team USA’s 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup squad includes:
- Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever)
- Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings)
- Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever)
- Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx)
- Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury)
- Chelsea Gray (Las Vegas Aces)
- Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream)
- Kelsey Plum (Phoenix Mercury)
- Angel Reese (Atlanta Dream)
- Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty)
- A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces), and
- Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces)
Team USA has won the last four consecutive editions of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. The hope is that this year’s roster can continue that remarkable run by capturing yet another gold medal.