Caitlin Clark Could Lose Starting Role With Team USA As Coach Reveals FIBA Challenge

Caitlin Clark is one of the biggest stars of Team USA heading into the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, but that does not actually mean that she will be in the starting lineup.

Team USA opens its World Cup campaign against China on September 4 in Berlin, with Clark joining a loaded squad that includes Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum have pulled out of the event, but Clark’s starting role is still not guaranteed.

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Sports host and former college basketball player Rachel DeMita thinks Clark should come off the bench, pointing out how Team USA handled her during the World Cup qualifying earlier this year.

“I’m not sure Caitlin Clark’s gonna start, and then obviously there’s this huge spotlight on Caitlin. She’s the most popular player in the league. This is kind of her first senior international display.”

“I think there’s going to be a lot of noise if and when she doesn’t start, but I’m not sure she’s going to start because even if we look back at the qualifying rounds, she didn’t start. I think they played like six games, five or six games. She was the last person to enter the starting lineup.”

“They changed the starting lineup for literally every single game. She was the last person to enter into the starting lineup. She was the only one by the last game who hadn’t started yet, and so I just don’t know how they’re going to play it.”

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“If they’re going to let seniority start, like if they’re going to have Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper and Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart and then, I don’t know, maybe Aliyah Boston, probably Aliyah Boston in as the center. If they’re going to go with a lineup like that and just let players start who have kind of been here before, even if they’re not technically better players than the ones that are on the bench.”

“I will also say international play is a little different in terms of how they think about starters, because in other countries, they don’t necessarily think that the starting five is the best five players on the team.”

“A lot of times, you’ll have an MVP player coming off the bench. It’s just the way that they do their rotations. Sometimes a player or two or three who come off the bench is actually the player who are the most valuable, and they end up playing in the fourth quarter.”

“It’s not like they start with their five best. However, in American basketball, the five best players start. That’s just how it is with the American system. I think as Team USA, you should go by that.”

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Clark played all five games in that tournament, but she was the last of the players to get a start. Team USA constantly changed their lineup, and Clark eventually started against New Zealand before coming back to the bench against Spain.

But that did not stop her from dominating.

Clark was named the tournament MVP, leading Team USA in assists at 6.4 per game, while finishing second on the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game, while shooting 52.9% from the field. She also led the entire tournament in assists.

DeMita argued that international basketball often treats starting minutes differently than the WNBA, but head coach Kara Lawson also revealed another challenge surrounding Clark: nobody knows exactly how international defenses will guard her.

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“Caitlin’s ready. Caitlin’s focused. She’s had a great campaign with Indiana. I’ve gotten to watch her a lot in person this summer, so she’s locked in and ready to go.”

“Yeah, minutes and roles, we just really hadn’t got there yet with our players, but, you know, she’s somebody that can change games with her ability to create pace, her ability to score, playmake, and so that’s something that is going to be a great fit for the personnel that we have on this team. And, you know, her ability to get going and get hot and to stretch the floor, the spacing that she provides, the attention that she generally draws in the WNBA, we’ll see if that’s the same.”

“I mean, that’s another part about FIBA that we’ll have to see, since it’s her first time here, is, you know, how people defend her. Is it similar to what we see in the States, or is it a little bit different?”

“So we’re still in fact-finding mode in some of those areas that we’ll know when we get into matchups. But, you know, we’re excited about having her on the team and, you know, expecting her to make an impact for us each game.”

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Lawson added that Clark’s first senior World Cup presents a good test against opponents who may defend her differently than how WNBA teams naturally guard her.

Clark is coming off a career-best WNBA season, averaging 22.5 points and 8.4 assists while shooting 45.6% from the field. Her ability to stretch defenses way beyond the three-point line and create easy looks for her teammates makes her one of the most dangerous offensive weapons on Team USA.

But Lawson has made it clear that minutes and roles have not yet been finalized. That means Clark could still technically start the games on the bench and finish as one of Team USA’s most important players.

So, if her qualifying performance is any indication, whether Clark starts will ultimately matter less than what she does when she enters the game.