Brittney Griner Reacts To Fan’s Claim That Team USA Will ‘Need Caitlin Clark’ To Beat Japan

Apparently, the WNBA rookie was not needed as Team USA destroyed Japan by a score of 102-76.

Team USA women’s basketball team started its mission to bring back the gold medal to the United States in Paris when they took the court on July 29. Before the team got off a blowout victory against their opponent, Japan, a Japanese fan held up a sign that caught the attention of several players, including Las Vegas Aces A’Ja Wilson, which made Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner blurt out, “Oh, wow!’

The fan, seen in the stands holding a sign, was wearing a basketball jersey that was half Brooklyn Nets and half Los Angeles Lakers. It wasn’t the jersey that made people notice; it was what was written on the handheld sign. To possibly rattle the USA basketball team or contribute to the controversy of not including one of the WNBA rookies, the sign said, “You need Caitlin Clark to beat us.”

Some of the players from Team USA saw the sign and were shocked at what was written. A video shows Wilson bringing the sign to the attention of Griner who looks at the sign and says, “Oh, wow.”

Team USA 👀 a sign that reads, “You need Caitlin Clark to beat us.” USA-Japan tipping off shortly. pic.twitter.com/ymyJ6mSuXQ

— Kerith Burke (@KerithBurke) July 29, 2024

Apparently, the team did fine without Clark as they destroyed Japan by a score of 102-76.

According to NBC News, Team USA had no difficulty scoring the victory against their opponent. Wilson did extremely well, scoring 24 points, snaring 13 rebounds, and blocking four shots. The New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart had 22 points and snatched eight rebounds. Griner, the Aces’ Kelsey Plum, and the Mercury’s Sabrina Ionescu each contributed 11 points to keep Japan at bay. Chelsea Gray, who also plays with Wilson and Plum, gave out 13 assists.

The next opponent for Team USA is Belgium. That contest will take place at 3:00 p.m. on Aug. 1.