Team USA's golden era isn't over. Its cakewalk is | Opinion

The days of cakewalks for the U.S. women’s basketball team are over.

Anyone shrugging at the news A’ja Wilson will not play at the upcoming FIBA World Cup, assuming the Americans are so loaded with talent they won’t miss the greatest player on the planet, hasn’t been paying attention. The world has caught up to the U.S. women and, even with a roster of All-Stars, the World Cup is going to offer a glimpse for players and fans alike of what’s in store at the Los Angeles Olympics.

The World Cup begins Friday, Sept. 4, in Berlin, Germany, with the U.S. playing 2022 silver medalist China.

For seemingly forever, the U.S. women have dominated the international game. They’ve won an unprecedented eight consecutive Olympic gold medals, and nine of the last 12 World Cups. The last game they lost at the Olympics or World Cup — not the title, just a game — was back in 2006, before Caitlin Clark had even started grade school.

Most of the U.S. women’s wins have come easily. Games that were over by halftime. Games that were even bigger blowouts than the double-digit victory margins indicated.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) receives a pass from center-forward Aliyah Boston (7) with Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride (21) defending in the fourth quarter at Target Center on Aug. 2, 2026.

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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) receives a pass from center-forward Aliyah Boston (7) with Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride (21) defending in the fourth quarter at Target Center on Aug. 2, 2026.

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Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd (35) blocks a shot by Chicago Sky guard Sydney Taylor (12) during the second half at the American Airlines Center on July 12, 2026.

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But the head start the U.S. women had thanks to Title IX has narrowed to almost nothing.

At the Paris Olympics, the Americans were down by double-digits to France in the second half of the final and needed a monster defensive play by Breanna Stewart and two clutch free throws from Wilson to keep their gold-medal streak intact. Six months before that, the U.S. women avoided an upset by Belgium at the Olympic qualifying tournament with a last-second bucket by Stewart.

As the U.S. women’s soccer team can attest, these are not one-offs. Teams from around the world are benefitting from the growth of the game here, as well as the recognition globally that modest investments in women’s sports can bring big gains.

Look at any roster at a World Cup or Olympics now, and you’ll find players who are either in the WNBA or played here in college. France’s Olympic team? Its leading scorer was Gabby Williams, who won two national titles at UConn and is a two-time WNBA All-Star. The Germany team that reached the quarterfinals in its first Olympic appearance? It was led by the Sabally sisters (Satou and Nyara); Leonie Fiebich, a 2024 WNBA champion with the New York Liberty; and Alexis Peterson, a former ACC player of the year while at Syracuse.

Or how about the Nigeria team that was the first from Africa, men’s or women’s, to reach the quarterfinals at the Olympics? Its leading scorer was Ezinne Kalu, who played at Savannah State, and it was coached by Rena Wakama, then an assistant at Tulane and now an assistant with the Chicago Sky.

The U.S. women’s success serves as an inspiration for the rest of the world, and the NCAA and WNBA offer their teams a foundation from which to grow. Which, if you care about women’s sports, is what you want. Winning titles and trophies is fun and all. But the best want to measure themselves against the best, not play glorified exhibitions.

“There’s definitely a ton of parity,” Stewart said before Paris. “I think it just makes us really want to be on our Ps and Qs. Make sure we understand exactly what we’re doing. And know that we’re doing something that’s extremely tough.”

The veterans, like Stewart and Chelsea Gray and Napheesa Collier, know this. They have seen firsthand how intense and physical the international game is, even more so than the WNBA, and know it requires you to be locked in every second you’re on the court.

But this will be the first major international tournament with the senior national team for Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese. So, too, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, who were named to the team after Wilson and Kelsey Plum withdrew because of injuries.

The World Cup will give them a reality check of just how difficult the international game is before LA, when the pressure of extending their gold-medal streak is going to be compounded by the Olympics being on home soil. Because no U.S. team wants to be the one that loses the streak, and they really don’t want that to happen at a home Olympics.

The Americans are still the best and deepest team in the world. But their days of being able to run roughshod over everyone else, in every game, are over.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.