Stephen A. Smith slams Dawn Staley for changing stance on Caitlin Clark's Team USA snub

Caitlin Clark’s omission from the Team USA Olympic team may be old news, but it remains a talking point among basketball analysts. It was again brought up by ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith, who also reminded everyone about the initial stance of one of the Team USA’s Selection Committee members.

In the latest episode of "The Stephen A Smith Show," the analyst slammed Dawn Staley, head coach of South Carolina and a member of the USWNT Selection Committee, for changing her stance about Clark and missing out on the potential impact of her Team USA inclusion to the WNBA.

“You know she had the potential. You know playing amongst stars, her marksmanship, she could have made big things happen. With her passing abilities, she could’ve made things happen (43;18-43:27),” said Stephen A. referring to Staley.

Smith also sounded off on how Clark could have elevated women’s basketball even more as she has proven to bring in more eyes to the product than any player right now.

“Then, she would have drawn excitement and eyeballs and people world over would have been watching her. Which would have assisted in the elevation of the WNBA brand which would have benefited everybody. But you didn’t care (43;30-43:40),” said the longtime ESPN analyst.

Smith’s comments came after Staley commented on how the Team USA women’s basketball team players were picked, and how the Indiana Fever rookie got snubbed among the established stars of the WNBA.

In an interview with NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico, Staley expressed regret about Clark’s snub, and if she had done it again and seen how Clark had played two weeks before the All-Star break, she would have been likely in the Olympic team.

“Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA, wasn’t playing bad, but wasn’t playing like she’s playing now," Staley said. "If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team. She is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.”

Dawn Staley initially did not believer in Caitlin Clark

Dawn Staley was initially not a believer of Caitlin Clark after seeing her in the first two months of the WNBA season. Following Angel Reese’s Rookie of the Month win in June, Staley said Clark may not be the best player in the class, instead, it was Reese.

“At this time — today — it’s Angel. Without a doubt,” she said.

However, Clark has since climbed her way out of the slump and is now leading the league in assists per game at 8.2. She is also third in three-point makes with 71.

Clark is also averaging 17.1 points per game, the 13th-best in the league, while also becoming the first rookie in WNBA history to record a triple-double in a single game.