Team USA’s 3×3 women’s team is going to look vastly different once the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris rolls around from the announced grouping. The four-player team consisted of WNBA stars Cameron Brink and Rhyne Howard, college standout Hailey Van Lith and former Tennessee player Cierra Burdick.
Right now, Van Lith and Burdick are the only players healthy enough to participate. A replacement for Brink will be announced in the coming weeks as she suffered a torn ACL playing for the Los Angeles Sparks over the weekend.
On Wednesday, it was Rhyne Howard who went down with an injury. Howard, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft and Rookie of the Year that season suffered what appears to be an ankle sprain against the Minnesota Lynx.
The Atlanta Dream star stepped on the foot of Courtney Williams, causing the injury. She was unable to return to the game and head coach Tanisha Wright did not have an update on her status after the game, other than she will be evaluated further on Thursday.
The injury to Rhyne Howard will be something that Dream fans keep a close eye on, as well as the Team USA selection team. If she looks to be hampered in any fashion, they will need to consider a replacement for her as well.
They could opt to bring back some of Team USA from the inaugural gold medal-winning squad in 2021. Allisha Gray, Howard’s teammate on the Dream, was on that team, along with Stephanie Dolson of the Washington Mystics. Las Vegas Aces guards Kelsey Plum and Jackie Gray, who rounded out the first squad, are both on Team USA 5×5 team this year.
Replacing one member of the Team USA 3×3 team was going to be tough. Brink was a matchup nightmare for opponents given her size to intimidate defensively and her ability to step out and knock down 3-pointers. Replacing her won’t be easy, but potentially having to find a second replacement for Rhyne Howard makes it very difficult.
Could this be the chance for Team USA to get Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark involved in the 2024 Summer Olympics? It will be something worth keeping an eye on. A center will likely replace Brink, but a guard such as Clark could get the call to replace Rhyne Howard if necessary.
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