How to watch, Team USA storylines and schedule
Team USA is aiming for a fourth straight FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup title when the tournament begins Wednesday in Sydney, Australia. This is the 19th edition of FIBA’s flagship women’s event, which began in 1953 and was won by the USA, the nation’s first of 10 World Championship gold medals to date.
The 2022 tournament features 12 nations including world No. 3 and hosts Australia, 2021 Olympic silver medalist Japan and 2021 bronze medalist France. The competition starts with a round robin game between two groups. The top four teams in each group advance to the knockout stages where they face off in a single-elimination format.
At stake: The winner will punch their ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics, plus valuable FIBA World Ranking points up for grabs.
How to watch the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup
The 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup will stream on ESPN+ in the US, with six games also being broadcast on linear television.
Here’s the streaming/tv schedule for the US team’s five group games:
| DAY/DATE (US) | MATCH | TIME | NETWORK |
| Wednesday 21 Sept | USA vs Belgium | 9:20 p.m. ET | ESPN+ |
| Thursday 22 September | United States vs Puerto Rico | 8:20 p.m. ET | ESPN+ |
| Saturday 24 Sept | US vs China | 12:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2 |
| Monday 26 Sept | USA vs South Korea | Midnight (12 p.m.) ET | ESPN2 |
| Tuesday, September 27th | USA vs Bosnia and Herzegovina | Midnight (12 p.m.) ET | ESPNU |
Lineup of Team USA for the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup
Team USA is made up of five players fresh out of the WNBA Finals, including the dynamic trio of 2022 WNBA MVP Las Vegas Aces Aye Wilson2022 WNBA Finals MVP Chelsea Greyand All-Star MVP Kelsey Plum. The Connecticut Sun is represented by a triple-double historian Alisa Thomas and sixth WNBA Player of the Year for 2022 Briona Jones. US head coach on Tuesday Cheryl Reeve said all 12 players are unlikely to be available for the team’s first game.
| SURNAME | POSITION | HEIGHT | AGE* | CURRENT WNBA TEAM | UNIVERSITY | HOMEPLACE |
| Ariel Atkins | Guard | 5-8 | 26 | Washington mystic | Texas | Duncanville, TX |
| Shakira Austin | Mid/Forward | 6-5 | 22 | Washington mystic | Mississippi | Upper Marlboro, MD |
| Kahleah Copper | Forward/Guard | 6-1 | 28 | Chicago sky | Rueger | Philadelphia |
| Chelsea Grey | Guard | 5-11 | 29 | Las Vegas Aces | duke | Manteca, CA |
| Sabrina Ionescu | Guard | 5-11 | 24 | New York freedom | Oregon | Walnut Creek, CA |
| Briona Jones | Forward | 6-3 | 26 | Connecticut sun | Maryland | Havre de Grace, MD |
| Betnya Laney | Guard/Forward | 6-0 | 28 | New York freedom | Rueger | Clayton, DE |
| Jewel Loyd | Guard | 5-10 | 28 | Seattle Storm | Notre-Dame | Lincolnwood, Illinois |
| Kelsey Plum | Guard | 5-8 | 28 | Las Vegas Aces | Washington | Poway, CA |
| Breanna Stewart | Forward/Center | 6-4 | 28 | Seattle Storm | Connecticut | North Syracuse, New York |
| Alisa Thomas | Forward | 6-2 | 30 | Connecticut sun | Maryland | Harrisburg, Pa |
| Aye Wilson | Forward | 6-5 | 26 | Las Vegas Aces | South Carolina | Hopkins, SC |
*Age as of September 20, 2022
Team USA coaching staff:
| title | Name (Current WNBA/College Team) |
| head coach | Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota lynx) |
| assistant coach | Mike Thibaut (Washington mystics), Kara Lawson (Duke University), Joni Taylor (Texas A&M University) |
| court trainer | Kurt Mueller (Connecticut Sun), Katie Smith (Minnesota lynx) |
| video coordinator | Ashlee McGee (Minnesota lynx) |
| Athletic trainer | Courtney Watson (L.A. sparks), Hannah Wengertsman (Phoenix Mercury) |
| team doctor | dr Nancy Cummings |
| Athletic performance | Fran Parsons |
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Team USA storylines follow in Sydney
Fresh faces highlight the Team USA roster for Sydney, where exactly half of the US players will make their USA Basketball debut in a major international competition: Briona Jones, Alisa Thomas, Sabrina Ionescu, Betnya Laney, Kahleah Copper and Shakira Austin.
“We’re in a bit of a transition,” he said Breanna Stewart, the 2022 AP WNBA Player of the Year who has won two Olympic gold medals and two world titles as a member of Team USA. “But it really gives young players an opportunity to come in and show what they can do and help take USA basketball to the next level – and understand that everyone wants to beat us. Nobody wants us to win gold. And yet our goal is to win the whole thing every time we play.”
The 2022 World Cup marks the first time since 2000 that the US has been without supports Sue Vogel (retired) and Diana Taurasi (injury), and missing veterans as well Tina Karl (got out), Brittney Griner (imprisoned Russia since February 17th) and Sylvia Fowles (retired). These five players have collectively won a whopping 19 Olympic gold medals. Only five members of the team that won the gold medal at Tokyo 2021 in the USA are in the World Cup squad – Stewart, Ariel Atkins, Chelsea Grey, Jewel Loyd and Aye Wilson – while Kelsey Plum (3×3 Olympic Gold 2021), Loyd, Stewart and Wilson are the only ones to have competed at the previous 2018 World Championship.
In addition, the World Championship is the first time at the helm of Team USA’s head coach Cheryl Reevewho served and relieved as an assistant for the national team at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics Dawn Staley In December.
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format for the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup
The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney features 12 national teams with 38 games played over 10 days from September 22nd to October 10th. 1. Teams begin with seven days of group play, with each team playing each team in their group once. Teams receive two points for a win and one point for a draw, with the top four teams in each group advancing to the knockout stage.
Ahead of the knockout stages, the pairings and group placement for the eight teams in the Quarterfinals will be drawn: the top two teams in each group (Group A and Group B) will be drawn against the two teams placed third and fourth in the other group .
The tournament continues with two semi-finals on Friday, September 30, with the winner of each semi-final advancing to the gold medal match on Saturday, October 1. The losers of each semi-final will also play for bronze on October 1st.
Group A:
- Belgium
- China
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Puerto Rico
- Korea
- United States of America
Group B:
- France
- Serbia
- Japan
- mali
- Canada
- Australia
Particularly missing in Sydney: Spain in second place, who could not qualify; Nigeria, whose federation withdrew the team over governance issues; as well as Russia and Belarus, who were barred from participating due to their invasion and the ongoing war in Ukraine.