The Greatest Dynasty Ever
USA Basketball Women’s National Team
You should know this team. The team that’s been undefeated on the global stage since ’96. The team heading out to bring home a historic seventh straight Olympic Gold Medal. Meet the women who have been pushing the world to step up their game in every way. Meet the women who make you take a 66-3 Olympic record for granted. Meet the definition of dominance.
Diana Taurasi, Sylvia Fowles, Sue Bird, A’ja Wilson, and the entire USA Basketball Women’s National Team have defined greatness over the last two decades. By representing the best of us, they’re redefining what it means to be great on and off the court.
Why should Americans rally around this team?
Diana Taurasi: Look at this room: gay, straight, Black, immigrant—it’s all the things America is.
“We represent so much of our country. Racism, sexism, homophobia—I feel like everybody in those categories are the ones having the most harm done to them right now, and here we are. We’re going to be on this stage, representing those things and talking about those things. I think there’s something to be proud of in that.”
Sue Bird
USA Basketball Women’s National Team
For first-timers, is it a lot of pressure to keep this winning tradition alive?
A’ja Wilson: It is. You don’t want to be that team that messes it up. I don’t want the whole team to take an L over me! So you’re like, “I got to get my shit together.” So yeah, I feel the pressure, but being around these women, they don’t let me feel it. They’re like, “Just go play.”
What is it about this team that makes women so willing to sacrifice their time?
Sue Bird: For me, there wasn’t a WNBA growing up. So (the national team) was the end-all be-all. In women’s basketball, if you make this team, that’s when you’re elite. For (the men) when they win an NBA final, that’s when they’re elite. When they get their big contract. That’s when they’re elite. For us, when you make this team, that’s when you know you’re elite.
Sylvia Fowles: I just like playing with the best. These girls bring the best out of me. When we’re in this atmosphere, it takes you out of your WNBA environment and puts you in a different state of mind. And I like hearing their feedback, because they’re only going to make you better.
“We still want to be around each other. There’s more to get. There’s more to see.”
Diana Taurasi
USA Basketball Women’s National Team
The USA Basketball Women's National Team has defined greatness for the past 25 years. Now that you know this team, make sure you don’t miss them as they define the next 25.
Photographer: Dana Boulos, @danaboulos
Join the USA Basketball Women’s National Team and Nike on a journey to Play New. Together.