WNBA star Arike Ogunbowale could give Team USA another tough time

Ogunbowale did not give up on that feeling on Friday, although she said it was not the reason for withdrawing from the process early.

“Women’s basketball, in general, and a lot of things in general, are political,” she said. “I just made the decision based on what I thought was right. I’m going to use the break to rest.”

Before the 5-foot-8 guard gets a few weeks off, she will lead a squad of WNBA All-Stars against Team USA on Saturday during All-Star weekend. In 2021, when the game had a similar format, Ogunbowale scored 26 points and was named the game’s MVP after leading her team to a 93-85 victory, showing the U.S. team that there was still work to be done.

Ogunbowale said her MVP performance three years ago was a great moment — and hopes for another one this Saturday — but he doesn’t see this year’s game as any kind of vindication.

“I don’t think we have anything to prove — we’re here, we’re All-Stars,” she said. “But it’s just a little bit more because they’re about to go to Paris. They’re training, this is like a practice game. It’s just a more competitive atmosphere. Obviously they want to win and go to the Olympics.

“We are competitors too. We want to win, just because we want to win.”

Ogunbowale is in her sixth WNBA season and a four-time All-Star. She is averaging 22.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists this year. Although she is not on Team USA, she said she will never complain about being part of the league’s showcase weekend.

“It’s never guaranteed,” Ogunbowale said. “The league gets better and better every year, so you have to improve your game. Every time you get that call, it’s special.”

Ogunbowale and the rest of the WNBA All-Stars are coached by women’s basketball legend Cheryl Miller. The 60-year-old said the players have made it clear to her that they are ready to compete.

“I found out that the team I coach wants to slow down our Olympic team,” Miller said. “I thought, ‘OK, now the pressure is on. Now we have a game, folks.'”

After her MVP performance in 2021, Ogunbowale went for the highest.

“I think it shows that out of the 144 players (in the WNBA), everyone is good,” she said at the time. “We wanted to get Team USA ready for Tokyo. They all represent us.”

This year, Ogunbowale is joined in the WNBA All-Stars by rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, who were also not selected to the national team. Clark’s omission was particularly widely criticized given the huge wave of popularity she has brought to women’s basketball.

Ogunbowale said she expects the WNBA team, with Clark and Reese on the roster, to be as popular as the American team was when it faced off on Saturday in Phoenix.

“I’m a basketball fan in general,” Ogunbowale said. “Kelsey, Caitlin, Angel, Neeka, K-Mac — basically everyone on the team has their own thing. That’s why they’re All-Stars. I love watching their games when I’m not playing against them, but just being on their team, playing with them, it’s dope.”

Ogunbowale said she is ready to be the star on Saturday, but only if necessary. If the game comes down to the last chance, she is confident that all 12 players on her team are capable.

“We have the luxury that whatever hands it goes into, it’s probably going to go in,” Ogunbowale said. “We’ve got great players. I’d let anybody shoot. I’d shoot. Whoever’s hot that day.”

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball