Paris 2024 basketball: Jackie Young shows how USA women rely on depth, chemistry in win over Germany
The United States women’s basketball team is quite different from the other 11 teams at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. While Team USA does have plenty of depth, they don’t have the chemistry that other teams have from playing together for years. Sometimes, the USA needs to take the chemistry developed by WNBA teams and plug it in to see if it can work with this squad.
That’s exactly what Team USA did in its 87-68 win over Germany on Sunday, 4 August. The win puts the USA at 3-0 in group play and in excellent position for the quarterfinal rounds.
Jackie Young, a three-time all-star with the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces, came off the bench to score 19 points in the win. She hit five out of eight shots from the three-point line.
"Our role here is to come in and get defensive stops and change the game on the defensive end. We know we can all score the ball, so I think just making an impact on the defensive end is important,” Young said after the game. "We don't know when our number is going to be called, but just staying ready and being locked in on the bench."
Her Aces teammate Kelsey Plum had nine points and five assists in just 15 minutes on the court, including a key pass to Young as time was expiring at the end of the third quarter.
Young hit a buzzer-beating three, putting an exclamation point on the American lead. Plum knew where Young would be because they play together so often.
Jackie Young on how Team USA players accept their role
Before the Olympics, Young told Olympics.com that part of building chemistry means that stars must accept different roles than with their WNBA teams.
“I like the chemistry that we have, just being able to pick up that chemistry in a very short amount of time. I think just everybody coming, being professionals and being willing to accept whatever role,” Young said. “Obviously, our roles are going to be different than they are on our WNBA team. So I think just having that mindset, being able switch it on and off, what you need to do to, makes this team great.”
Young and Plum weren’t the only Aces to contribute to the American win. A’ja Wilson scored 14 points, making it her third straight USA win with her scoring in the double digits. But the better news for Wilson is that she didn’t have to play another game where she had to handle so much. She had 24 minutes on the court, giving her more time to rest as the USA heads to the quarterfinals.
“It’s incredible. I mean that’s what makes us legendary. That’s what makes us one of the best teams in the world, that we can sub five and five out and there’s no drop off,” Wilson said to the AP after the game.
Breanna Stewart had 13 points in 16 minutes. Diana Taurasi and Chelsea Gray played just over six minutes. Young stepping up and running with a bigger role meant that other players could rest with the quarterfinals starting on Wednesday, 7 August.
Next, the women’s basketball world will move the party from Lille, France to Paris, with the next three rounds of games happening at the Bercy Arena in the French capital. The USA will continue to rely on players stepping up when their number is called, and the chemistry they’ve built in such a short time.