Kara Lawson, who is a former Boston Celtics assistant coach, will lead the Americans at the FIBA Women's World Cup, beginning on Friday.
Former Boston Celtics assistant coach Kara Lawson will look to lead Team USA to the FIBA Women's World Cup gold medal in Berlin, Germany.
The tournament begins on Friday and runs through Sept. 13. The event has put a pause on the WNBA season.
Here's what you need to know:
Americans the heavy favorite
Team USA has won every Olympic gold medal since 1996, and they've won 11 World Cup titles (1953, 1957, 1979, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022).
Who is on the team?
The team is made up of WNBA standouts Aliyah Boston, Paige Bueckers, Sonia Citron, Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier, Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Rhyne Howard, Kiki Iriafen, Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart and Jackie Young.
WNBA stalwarts like Kelsey Plum are not on this roster, but could very well appear on the 2028 Olympic team.
How does the tournament work?
There are 16 teams in this tournament field, with four groups of four teams each representing. Each of the four group winners will automatically advance to the quarterfinals, while the second and third-place teams in each group will advance to the Round of 12.
The last-place team in each group will be eliminated.
Once we are in the Round of 12, those eight second and third-place teams will have to play each other in elimination games to see who makes it to the quarterfinals.
At that point, each game is an elimination game until we get a champion.
About coach Kara Lawson
Lawson, 45, spent 13 years in the WNBA with Sacramento, Connecticut and Washington, earning an All-Star appearance in 2007. She won the 2005 WNBA championship with Sacramento as well. She won three Olympic gold medals. She has spent six years as the women's head coach at Duke, winning more than 100 games and getting to the Elite Eight last season.
However, before that, she spent the 2019-20 season as an assistant coach under Brad Stevens with the Celtics. She was the first female coach in franchise history, but left after that season to go to Duke.
While she appears quite happy at Duke, there were certainly some that thought she could have been the franchise's next head coach at some point. They hired Ime Udoka to replace Stevens, and then gave the job to Joe Mazzulla when Udoka was let go for non-basketball reasons.
Boston Celtics guard Carsen Edwards (4) talks with assistant coach Kara Lawson before the start of the game against the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden. David Butler II-USA TODAY SportsWhat's the problem with the title game?
Well, from a viewership standpoint? Everything.
The title game of this event is at 2 p.m. ET on Sept. 13, meaning it's up against the first full NFL Sunday of the season and the US Open Men's Tennis championship match.
What is being played for?
The winner of this tournament gets an automatic bid to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. However, the Americans already have an automatic berth as the host nation, meaning that if they win this tournament, the other 11 spots will be decided at a tournament in early 2028.
Should the Americans lose in this tournament, then the winner will get an automatic bid, and 10 other spots will be decided at those 2028 events.
