WNBA Star Believes 'Politics' Kept Her Off USA Olympic Team

https://thespun.com/.image/c_fit%2Ch_800%2Cw_1200/MjA3MTc1ODI5MzA4ODQzMTE4/phoenix-mercury-v-dallas-wings.jpg

06/15/2024 02:09 PM

ARLINGTON, TX - JUNE 9: Arike Ogunbowale #24 of the Dallas Wings looks on during the game against the Phoenix Mercury during a 2024 Commissioner's Cup game on June 9, 2024 at the College Park Center in Arlington, TX. (Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)

Michael Gonzales/Getty Images

Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale thinks she knows why she didn't make the USA Olympic Team this summer.

Speaking on "Nightcap" with Gilbert Arenas, Chad Johnson, and Shannon Sharpe, she said that politics kept her off the team even though she also removed herself from the USA Basketball Olympic Pool.

"Whether that's USA Basketball, whether that's All-Star teams, whether that's first team, and stuff like that, there's politics," Ogunbowale said, (first transcribed by CBS Sports). "Even with the men's (teams). There's politics in everything, so I'm gonna just leave it at that."

Both she and Caitlin Clark were left off the team but there's a chance they'll be on it when the 2028 Summer Olympics come around. Those games will be held in Los Angeles, California.

Ogunbowale has been one of the best players in the WNBA this season, averaging 26.2 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game. This is her sixth season in the WNBA after she was picked fifth overall by the Dallas Wings in the 2019 WNBA Draft.

For her career, she has averaged 20.6 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per game. Let's see if she's on the next U.S. Olympic Team in four years.