2024-07-29 23:10:02
What is the U.S. women’s basketball team’s projected starting lineup vs. Japan?
It remains to be seen. This is a loaded roster, one that hasn’t had a ton of time to gel, and head coach Cheryl Reeve has understandably opted to experiment a bit in the lead-up to Paris. That said, the group of Chelsea Gray, Diana Taurasi, A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier started the team’s final exhibition against Germany, a resounding U.S. win. That would leave names like Sabrina Ionescu, Alyssa Thomas and Brittney Griner on the bench. Again: loaded.
Who coaches the U.S. women’s basketball team?
USA Basketball elected to run it back with the same coaching staff that led the to a gold medal at the 2022 FIBA World Cup, led by Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve.
| Name | Role | Team/Role |
| Cheryl Reeve | Head coach | Minnesota Lynx head coach |
| Mike Thibault | Assistant coach | Washington Mystics head coach |
| Kara Lawson | Assistant coach | Duke University head coach |
| Joni Taylor | Assistant coach | Texas A&M head coach |
What is the U.S. women’s basketball team’s head-to-head record vs. Japan?
The U.S. and Japan have met five times in the Olympics, four of which were won by the Americans. Japan won the first-ever meeting back in 1976, but the U.S. was victorious in 1996, 2016 and twice in 2020, including a win in the gold medal game.
A refresher on how elimination works in Olympic basketball
Let’s quickly break down the group phase and knockout rounds. More info available in Basketball 101: Competition Format.
Group phase
Each team will play the other three teams in its group and will earn two points for a win, one point for a loss, and zero points for a loss by forfeit.
At the end of the group phase, the top two teams in each group will automatically advance to the quarterfinals. Additionally, the two best third-place teams will also move on to the quarterfinals. All other teams are eliminated from the competition.
In the event of a tie in the standings between two teams in the same group, head-to-head results will be used as the tiebreaker. In the event of a tie between three or more teams, there is a list of further criteria that will be used to break the tie, starting with the highest point differential in games between the tied teams.
Knockout rounds
The knockout rounds begin with eight teams in the quarterfinals. A random draw will determine the matchups for the quarterfinals, with two important caveats:
- The two highest-ranked teams will be placed in the same pot and therefore end up on opposite sides of the bracket.
- Teams from the same group can’t be drawn against each other in the quarterfinals.
From there, the tournament follows a standard single-elimination format. In the quarterfinal round, the winners advance to the semifinals and the losers are eliminated. In the semifinal round, the winners advance to the gold medal game and the losers go on to play in the bronze medal game.
