Angel Reese’s strong message after Team USA claims Olympic gold: Leave me out of this

The United States women’s basketball team rallied and survived a ferocious France on Sunday to claim another Olympic gold — its eighth in a row, and its 61st consecutive victory at the Olympic Games. The gold medal served as the perfect sendoff for 42-year-old guard Diana Taurasi, who captured her sixth gold in as many Olympics and will soon hand off the torch to a new generation.

As of now, it seems that the next US standard-bearers at the 2028 Summer Olympic Games on home soil will be current WNBA rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, who will each have much more experience under their belts by the time the Los Angeles Games roll around four years from now. However, despite the excitement over what is to come, Reese is taking a page out of Taurasi’s book and focusing on the moment, here, in 2024.

Angel sounds off after fierce Olympic finale

An ESPN article previewing and projecting the US roster at the 2028 Olympics caught Reese’s attention on Sunday, shortly after the Americans held on to top France, 67-66, at Bercy Arena in Paris. The Chicago Sky forward took to X/Twitter not to bash the article, but to highlight that the 2024 team was still worth celebrating.

“Leave me out of this until my time comes,” Reese wrote, implying that her time will be at the 2028 Games alongside Indiana Fever duo Clark and Aliyah Boston, as well as Los Angeles Sparks rookie Cameron Brink — who would have been at the Paris Olympics playing for the 3-on-3 team had she not suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Let’s just congratulate these women & let them enjoy this moment! Leave me out of this until my time comes! 😇 https://t.co/tMK1jr9tdZ

— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) August 11, 2024

Reese and Clark were named WNBA All-Stars as rookies, and they appear to have very bright futures ahead of them in the W. The 2028 Olympic team leaders still figure to be A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, the past two WNBA MVPs who should still be playing at a high level in four years. But health permitting, the 22-year-old Reese understands her time to run the show is to come — and that her patience is going to pay off after she missed the cut for the Paris Games.