They’re the USA. What else do you need to know?

Those of us of a certain age remember when beating the Soviet Union was a big, big deal. But the USA still took gold in 1988 in addition to the boycotted Games of 1984. After taking bronze in 1992, losing to the Soviet remnants on the “Unified Team” in the semifinals, then taking bronze in the 1994 World Cup after a 110-107 loss to Brazil, the US women have won seven straight Olympic golds and six of the last seven World Cups. Their only loss in Olympic or World Cup competition was in the 2006 World Cup semifinal against Russia.

Four players from the mighty Las Vegas Aces are on the team – A’ja Wilson, point guard Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum, . Wilson was the top pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft. Gray was held back by injuries at Duke (gratuitous mention of my alma mater, the only one I’ll make), but she emerged as a WNBA star, she and Wilson were both on the gold medal squad in Tokyo. Young and Plum won gold in Tokyo on the 3×3 squad.

Before Caitlin Clark captured the public’s imagination, the young phenom in women’s basketball was Sabrina Ionescu, whose dazzling career at the University of Oregon made her the top pick in 2020.

Wilson is the team’s top scorer in France at 18.2 points per game, closely followed by Breanna Stewart at 18.0. Young has added 11.0. Wilson also leads the team in rebounds (9.6) and blocks (2.4), while Gray has 5.4 assists per game while playing less than 15 minutes per game.

The captain was a controversial addition to the team – Diana Taurasi, one of the game’s all-time greats but not a strong contributor at age 42.

In Paris, the US women have won comfortably but not overwhelmingly. Belgium, which bungled clock management down the stretch to lose the bronze-medal game to Australia earlier today, was tied with the USA after the first quarter but lost 87-74. Nigeria stayed somewhat close in the first half, fell far behind, then rallied to cut the final margin to 14.

Never a powerhouse in the 20th century and the 2000s, France have reached the semifinals for the fourth straight Olympics, taking silver in 2012 and bronze in Tokyo.

None of the team’s players are in the WNBA, but four of the team’s core players have been in the US league in the past.

Women’s basketball players tend to hop back and forth between the WNBA and European or Asian leagues to maximize their earning potential, so deciding to skip a WNBA season in an Olympic year isn’t unusual.

Gabby Williams, from Nevada originally, played for UConn and was the fourth overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft. She has spent five years in the WNBA and leads the French team in Paris in points per game (14.8) and minutes (26:03). Marine Johannes, who grew up in France and came across the Atlantic to spend some time with the New York Liberty, is the only other player in double figures, averaging 12.2. Johannes was the 2023 EuroCup MVP.

As with the French men’s team, the French women’s team has no shortage of centers.

Marieme Badiane (6-foot-3, no WNBA experience) is the leading rebounder with 5.6. Ilana Rupert (6-4) was the 12th pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft and won a championship with Las Vegas. The tallest (6-6) and youngest player is Cameroon-born Dominique Malonga, who has played sparingly at age 18 but maybe someone to watch in the 2025 WNBA Draft.

Badiane and Valeriane Ayayi, who once played for San Antonio, are averaging roughly one and a half blocks per game.

The captain is 35-year-old Sarah Michel.

Will we see the Games end with the continuation of several of the Olympics’ most impressive streaks?

Or will we see a titanic upset?

And have we finished complaining that Caitlin Clark isn’t on the US roster?

Let’s take a look at the final event of the Paris Olympics …