The U.S. women’s basketball team may not have the cache the men’s team does, but it is every bit as historically dominant, if not more so. The women have won gold in the past six Olympics, racking up numerous records along the way.
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The veterans on this year’s roster have experienced plenty of that success. Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi have both suited up for USA Basketball since 2000, boasting a combined eight Olympic and seven FIBA World Cup gold medals. Sylvia Fowles is also back, looking for a fourth gold medal.
And unlike the men’s team, where the talent level seems to be dropping, the women’s squad is as deep and strong as it has ever been.
To gauge how this year’s team stacks up to Olympic squads of years past, we can look at the WNBA player efficiency rating for each player on each U.S. roster. Player efficiency rating is an all-in-one metric created by former NBA executive John Hollinger, which uses field goals, free throws, three-pointers, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals, missed shots, turnovers and personal fouls as inputs. It’s not perfect but it gives us a good barometer of talent.
