US Dynasty on the Line | Sports

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The U.S. women’s basketball team is on a historic streak, winning seven straight Olympic gold medals. And while no one is close to ending that streak, the rest of the world is getting better.

The Americans, who had not lost an Olympic competition since 1992, won by an average of 16 points at the Tokyo 2020 Games. It was their smallest margin of victory since the series began at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

The biggest challenge for the United States will again be the limited time to prepare and train as a unit. The entire team will meet for the first time before the Paris Games.

“The rest of the world is definitely getting better,” said Diana Taurasi, a six-time Olympian. “It’s not as easy as it’s seemed over the years.”

Taurasi, 42, was part of the last five U.S. Olympic teams. She will seek a record-breaking sixth gold medal in Paris.

The United States is trying to break a tie with the U.S. men’s basketball team for the most consecutive gold medals. The men won seven straight from 1936 to 1968. The basketball teams have the longest streak of gold medals in a traditional team sport in Olympic history.

The Americans understand what lies ahead and focus on the present, not the past. The goal is simply to win in Paris and not to look at the bigger picture of the dynasty’s continuation.

“You can’t have this as your day-to-day thinking and then lose sight of what it takes to get there,” said American coach Cheryl Reeve. “That’s the most important thing to prevent. There’s a great story that we can’t escape, it’s one of the greatest dynasties in history. This is our first experience with this group and this is our own journey, it’s golden.”

It’s certainly a special moment for Brittney Griner, who is returning to the team for the Olympics. She missed the 2022 World Cup when she was wrongfully detained in Russia for 10 months. She has said she will only play overseas with USA Basketball.

“We were all thinking about BG when she was away and we didn’t know if this moment was possible,” Reeve said. “I’m excited for her personally and excited for our basketball team.”

The Americans are in a group with Japan, Belgium and Germany. Japan won the silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in Group A, which includes Serbia, Spain, China and Puerto Rico. Group B consists of Canada, France, Australia and Nigeria.

Play begins on Sunday, July 28 and ends with the gold medal match on the final day of the Olympic Games.

Here are some other things to keep in mind:

Welcome back, LaurenAustralia will get a big boost with the return of Lauren Jackson. The four-time WNBA MVP won three Olympic silver medals and one bronze with the Opals before retiring from the game in 2016 after knee injuries derailed her career. She returned for the 2022 World Cup in Australia and led the team to a bronze medal. Now the 43-year-old forward will compete in her fifth Olympic Games.

“What Lauren has done is amazing,” said Australia coach Sandy Brondello. “He has a great basketball IQ and will definitely help us.”

Newcomers Germany is making its Olympic debut, led by the Sabally sisters: Niara and Sato (who plays for the Dallas Wings). The Germans will host the 2026 World Cup and hope to do well in Paris, where they are in a tough group with the USA, Belgium and Japan.

“We’re just there to have fun,” said Niara Sabally. “It’s basketball, you never know what’s going to happen. I have a lot of confidence in our team and I think we have a really good team.

Looking for victory

African nations have not fared well at the Olympics, going 1-36 with Nigeria’s only win coming in Athens 2004, when they beat Korea in the 11th place playoff. Nigeria will be looking to end that drought as the country celebrates its third Olympic Games anniversary.