A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum will miss the FIBA Women's World Cup for health reasons and will be replaced by Washington teammates Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, USA Basketball announced Monday.
Wilson, the four-time WNBA MVP, has shouldered quite a workload in the first part of the season for the Las Vegas Aces and needed a break to rest and get ready for the playoffs. She was voted the most outstanding player of the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2022 World Cup. She will be sorely missed by the United States.
Plum has been dealing with a calf injury for most of the WNBA season and it still hasn't 100% healed. She was a catalyst in the Paris Games gold-medal contest against France and sparked the Americans to the one-point victory.
Iriafen and Citron were both part of U.S. camps this past winter. Iriafen played on the American team that went to Puerto Rico and won the World Cup qualifier. Citron had to miss that tournament because of an injury, so she'll be making her national team debut in Germany.
The Americans have won every World Cup since finishing with the bronze medal in 2006. That World Cup saw American star Lisa Leslie pull out at the last minute because of a car accident that her uncle was in. Without her, the U.S. fell to Russia in the semifinals.
Without the two veteran players, the U.S. will rely even more heavily on its youth movement. Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers will make their World Cup debut. The young stars will be joined by Olympic medalists Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kahleah Copper.
Rhyne Howard and Aliyah Boston will also be making their World Cup debuts to round out the team.
The U.S. opens against China on Friday. The Chinese team has a huge front line with 7-foot-3 Zhang Ziyu, 6-10 Han Xu and 6-7 Li Yueru. The two teams played for the World Cup title in 2022 in Australia.
-
Las Vegas Aces to go to Game 5 in WNBA semifinals after losing to the Fever
The Las Vegas Aces are going to Game 5 of the WNBA Semifinals after losing to the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis on Sunday, 90-83.
The Aces win Game 3 against the Indiana Fever during semifinals
The Las Vegas Aces continue to push forward during their semifinal journey, facing off against the Indiana Fever tonight at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Las Vegas Aces take their first win of the best-of-5 series
The Las Vegas Aces had no problem bouncing back from Sunday's Game 1 loss, blowing out the Indiana Fever 90-68 in Game 2 of the WNBA Semifinals.
Kelsey Mitchell pours in 34 as Fever stun Aces 89-73 in Game 1
Indiana beat Las Vegas 89-73 behind Kelsey Mitchell’s 34 in WNBA semis Game 1, spoiling A’ja Wilson’s pregame MVP celebration. The Fever used an 11–0 late-third run as the Aces shot 40.8%.
