The Team USA's women team came up clutch and won their eighth straight gold medal at the Olympics by beating France, 67-66, on their home turf in Paris. As a part of the celebration, Team USA stars A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart recreated a photo of themselves with the gold medal from their 2013 U-19 World Championship and did it again in 2024 after winning hardware.
There is no doubt that Wilson and Stewart played a huge part in Team USA's gold medal victory like they do back in the WNBA with the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty respectively. Wilson was especially huge in the final as she scored 21 points to cap off not just the eighth straight gold medal for the women's team, but also the 61st consecutive game that ended in a victory which the Aces star calls “amazing” and describes USA as a “dynasty” according to Doug Feinberg of The Associated Press.
“It’s amazing. It truly is a dynasty that we have built here at USAB has been incredible,” Wilson said. “And I am so proud of the resilience that my team showed. We could have fumbled it many times, but we pulled through. To say I am a two-time gold medalist, I am so blessed.”
As for the other player in the viral pictures in Stewart, who scored eight points and collected eight rebounds in the win over France, she would reflect on the amount of immense success Team USA has had on the women's side. Still, she would emphasize that every gold medal has been “so different” and “hard.”
“Eight straight golds is insane honestly,” Stewart said. “Each one is so different, and so, so special and so, so hard.”
Team USA's A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, others celebrate gold medal
Besides the two stars of the team that have made a mark on the Olympics scale and the WNBA, USA center Brittney Griner also won her third gold medal which could be a surreal one as she has dealt with events off the court. As for Team USA, this could have been the hardest they were pushed by an opposing team as they won by just a single point and committed 19 turnovers.
“Maybe they won’t say it’s just easy and we walk in and just win gold,” Griner said. “Maybe they’ll stop saying that, because, like I said, we see everybody’s best shot. And we saw the shot that France gave us.”
As for USA's head coach in Cheryl Reeve, who also has the same role with the Minnesota Lynx, she would compliment the “unbelievable environment” of the Olympics.
“What a tremendous basketball game. The 12,000-plus that were here were just treated to an unbelievable environment and the level of athleticism and competitiveness that these players had,” Reeve said. “What a better way to finish the Paris Olympics than to see that? There’s a lot of trust that has to happen, so I’m just thrilled that we’re able to get a win.”
The WNBA comes back to play after the Olympics break on Thursday.
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