Brittney Griner responds to fan’s claim Team USA will ‘need Caitlin Clark’ to beat Japan

Team USA women’s basketball began its quest to bring a gold medal to the United States in Paris when it took the court on July 29. Before the team won a landslide victory over rival Japan, a Japanese fan held up an indication that caught the eye of several players, including A’Ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, prompting Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner to exclaim, “Oh, wow!”

The fan seen holding a banner within the stands was wearing a basketball jersey with half the words Brooklyn Nets and the opposite half Angels Lakers. It wasn’t the jersey that caught people’s attention; it was what was written on the hand sign. In a possible attempt to embarrass the U.S. basketball team or to fire up controversy by omitting one in all the WNBA’s rookies, the sign read: “You need Caitlin Clark to beat us.”

Some Team USA players saw the sign and were shocked by what it said. In the video, Wilson might be seen pointing the sign out to Griner, who looks on the sign and says, “Oh, wow.”

The team apparently did well without Clark and crushed Japan 102-76.

According to Team USA, there have been no difficulties punctation victory over the opponent. Wilson had a game-high 24 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Griner, Kelsey Plum of the Aces and Sabrina Ionescu of the Mercury contributed 11 points each to keep Japan at bay. Chelsea Gray, who also plays with Wilson and Plum, had 13 assists.

Team USA’s next opponent will be Belgium. This match will happen on August 1st at 3:00 PM.