How the USA women's basketball team could win a seventh gold medal in a row 

For the U.S. women’s basketball team, the pressure is on to continue a streak that was started at the Olympic Games Atlanta 1996. That team won gold in a convincing fashion and set the stage for the start of the WNBA. Since then, the U.S. women have won every gold medal in women’s basketball at the Olympic Games.

The women in the running for making the U.S. team understand the responsibility to keep the streak going.

“USA Basketball is such an amazing culture of history and partnership and teammates, and all these relationships that you build throughout your whole career,” Diana Taurasi said to Olympics.com in November 2023. “You put the jersey on for the next person, and people have done that for me and hopefully I'm doing it for the next generation.”

Taurasi is a five-time gold medalist. If she is named to the team and the U.S. wins a medal, she will occupy a special place in the record books as the most decorated team sport athlete in Olympic history.

But winning that seventh gold medal in a row, and the tenth overall gold medal, will not be easy for the U.S. Just in group play, they will face difficult tests while playing, with Group C also including Japan, Belgium and Germany.

The tournament will start in Lille, France, for the group stage, with all three groups playing at the Pierre-Mauroy Stadium. The top two teams from the group stage will automatically advance to the quarterfinals. The top two third-place finishers will also move on.

How will the U.S. fare against Japan, Belgium and Germany

The U.S. will start group play with Japan on 29 July, the team they beat to win the gold medal at Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. At the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Sopron, Hungary, in February, Japan was the top team to emerge. Led by Mai Yamamoto, Japan plays a fun, up-tempo style and are sure to present a unique challenge to the defending champions.

Two days later, on 1 August, the U.S. will play a rematch from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament against Belgium. In Antwerp in February, Belgium led most of the game. The U.S. needed a buzzer-beater tip in from Breanna Stewart to win. With Emma Meesseman leading the way, Belgium plays a physical game on the inside and has sharp shooters like Julie Vanloo on the outside, making them a tough test for the U.S.

For the final group game, the U.S. will face Germany on 4 August. This is the first Olympics Germany has ever qualified for in women’s basketball. Team USA must be careful not to look past Germany, who are led by WNBA stars and sisters Satou and Nyara Sabally, because doing well in the group stage can set them up for a better path to the gold medal game.

After the group phase, FIBA will conduct a draw to determine pairings in the quarterfinals. The draw will be balanced to make sure the best teams don’t face each other too early on.

The key for the U.S. will be to win its group to ensure the best position possible for the quarterfinals. This is when the U.S. could face France, the People’s Republic of China and Australia - all teams who have the firepower to test the U.S.

This is also when the tournament will move to Paris, with games happening at the Bercy Arena. Quarterfinals take place on 7 August, with semifinals on 9 August, and the gold-medal and bronze-medal games on 11 August, the final day of the Olympics Games Paris 2024.