Paris 2024 basketball: How A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart are powering USA's golden charge

USA women’s basketball stars A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart have been the two women towering over basketball for years, usually in opposition to one another.

Stewart went to the University of Connecticut ("UConn," in popular parlance) for college, a long time superpower in women’s hoops. She won four championships while there. Wilson, who is two years younger than Stewart, went to her home-state University of South Carolina and led them to their first national title. Her play for the Gamecocks helped establish them as a basketball power.

Now both playing in the WNBA, they once again have ended up on the opposite side of the ball. For Stewart’s 2020 championship with the Seattle Storm, she needed to defeat Wilson and the Aces. For both of Wilson’s championships, she’s needed to get past Stewart: in 2022 they faced off in the semifinals in Seattle, and in 2023, Stewart’s Liberty lost to Wilson and the Aces in the final.

Even their shoe deals are with different companies. Stewart released the Stewie 1s with Puma. Wilson’s soon-to-be-dropped A’Ones are with Nike.

Still, their mutual respect is evident. Wilson told Olympics.com earlier this year that Stewart is the player she couldn’t wait to play with in Paris.

“I feel like me and Stewie, we continue to grow up together in this league. So a lot of people see us as the rivalry that we are in and then our respective teams," said Wilson. "But when it comes to USAB, we're literally teammates and we don't get that chance often. Even an all-star game, we’re not ever teammates because we're literally probably the top two. It's pretty cool just to have those moments, like we grew up together literally being teammates with USAB, so now it's kind of like we're older now. I love that.”

But with Team USA, they finally get to come together, and they’ve raised each other’s game.

They’re both ranked in the top five among all the scorers in the Olympic tournament. Wilson is averaging 2.4 blocks per game while Stewart is averaging 1.6.

Most importantly, they can rely on each other because they know each other’s games are so good. Neither woman has had to play more than 24 minutes in a game for the USA to win. Taking that pressure off the two best players means that the entire team is stronger.

The next task is to win gold together in the championship final against France on Sunday, 11 August. The United States is aiming to become the first team ever to win eight straight Olympic golds. If the USA can get the win, it’s a bit sweeter because the top two women in the world did it together.