At 42 years old, University of Connecticut legend Diana Taurasi knows the end of her basketball career is a lot closer than the beginning. She is averaging just 11 minutes per game for Team USA at the Paris Olympics, and the team’s 88-74 quarterfinal win over Nigeria was her first time coming off the bench for an Olympic game since 2004.
But Taurasi’s impact on the American squad — not just in Paris, but over the last 20 years — is immeasurable and undeniable as they chase their eighth consecutive gold medal in the Olympic final against France on Sunday at Bercy Arena. It would be the sixth gold for Taurasi, who has competed in every major championship for Team USA since she graduated from UConn in 2004, making her the most decorated Olympic basketball player of all time, men’s or women’s.
“She’s one of the greatest competitors women’s basketball, and sports, has ever seen,” Team USA coach Cheryl Reeve said before the Games. “There’s no substitute for that level of experience. She’s done it all in big games, won us big games. She makes big shots. Her level of competing, her understanding of the game, her understanding of her teammates and how to put them in position to be successful, all of those things are tremendously valuable.”
At least one UConn alumna will bring home a gold medal, even if France pulls off what would be a stunning upset in front of its home crowd. Gabby Williams, who was a two-time All-American with the Huskies from 2014-18, is France’s leading scorer at the Games averaging 14.8 points plus 5.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds. France has been to just one prior gold medal game in women’s basketball, in 2012, where it fell 86-50 to the U.S. Williams is competing in her second Olympics representing France after helping the squad to a bronze medal at the 2020 Games.
“You have to believe if you want to do something special,” Williams said, according to The Associated Press. “What I love is (the) connection between us and our belief in each other, and if anything’s going to bring us gold, it’s going to be that.”
Williams played multiple seasons in college with both of the UConn legends still in Team USA’s starting lineup, New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart and Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier. The French star was on the roster for two of Stewart’s four consecutive NCAA titles in 2015 and 2016, and Collier joined the squad as a freshman in Stewart’s senior season. Stewart, the reigning MVP from the Tokyo Olympics, has been just as dominant in 2024 averaging 18 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 blocks in Paris.
“I think it will be an incredible atmosphere. I think that when you play the host country in their country, you expect it to be off the chain,” Stewart said according to The Associated Press. “Obviously in Tokyo we played Japan, but there were no spectators, and you want that. You want that loud excitement.”
This is Stewart’s third Olympics with Team USA and Collier’s second, though Lynx standout has taken on a far bigger role with this year’s team than she had in Tokyo. She has started every game of the Paris tournament and is averaging 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds after playing just 2.5 minutes per game in 2021. Collier had arguably her best performance of the Games in the semifinal against Australia, recording eight points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Nine members of Team USA have played in multiple Olympics and have experienced the thrill of winning gold at least once before — either in 5-on-5 or 3-on-3, but Connecticut Sun star Alyssa Thomas is one of threeset to become first-time medalists in Paris. Reeve personally recruited Thomas to return to the national team pool after she spent nearly a decade away from the program, and her impact has been immediate on both ends of the floor. The two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year runner-up has helped anchor a stifling U.S. defense, and she is averaging 5.4 rebounds and four assists per game.
“I don’t think that people really realize how good (Thomas) is and how impactful she is, but maybe seeing her on the USA team and seeing the impact that she’s still having, maybe it’ll click for people,” Sun teammate DiJonai Carrington said. “Maybe I’m biased, but every time she goes into the game, I feel like she changes the tempo. She changes the physicality, gets them extra possessions … She’s so versatile, and even though it’s a different role, I think she’s still shining.