Arike Ogunbowale Talks Team USA Olympic Selection Process: ‘Politics in Everything’

Dallas Wings star Arike Ogunbowale revealed she took her name out of contention for Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics, saying she believed she was not wanted on the team.

“Whether that’s USA Basketball, whether that’s All-Star teams, whether that’s first team, and stuff like that, there’s politics,” Ogunbowale said on the Nightcap podcast. “Even with the men’s [basketball teams]. There’s politics in everything, so I’m gonna just leave it at that.”

A three-time All-Star and two-time All-WNBA selection, Ogunbowale would seemingly be a shoo-in if her 2024 season performance was any indication. She’s scoring a career-high 26.2 points to go along with 4.6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.1 steals per game for the Wings.

The Milwaukee native has not represented the United States in international competition during her pro career. She said she had hopes of making the team at one point last year but decided to pull her name out of the running over frustration with the process.

“When it comes to [the Olympic trials]it really doesn’t have much to do with your game,” Ogunbowale said. “It’s really about who they feel like fits with the team. So I actually took my name out the pool months ago. That’s not saying I didn’t think maybe last year, I would be on the team and I was good enough to make the team, but when the list came out, I knew I would not be that one.”

Ogunbowale and Caitlin Clark were arguably the two biggest omissions on the initial Team USA roster. The United States has won seven straight Olympic gold medals.