Caitlin Clark has always had a clear picture of the kind of player she wanted to become, and she had no shortage of role models to look up to.
Caitlin Clark Reveals Her Impressive List Of Team USA Idols
The Indiana Fever guard opened up about the players who shaped her love for the game and the Olympics, naming Maya Moore, Sue Bird, and Diana Taurasi as the three athletes who stood out to her the most growing up. All three are Basketball Hall of Famers, and all three left behind a level of Olympic greatness that is nearly impossible to match.
“I remember as a kid, my eyes were just so wide,” Clark said. “I thought that was the coolest thing in the world.”
I asked Caitlin Clark who her favorite Olympic basketball players were growing up: “My favorite Olympians growing up definitely Maya Moore, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi.” 🎥 : @usabasketball pic.twitter.com/eK8nZ58dWT
— LoJo Media (@LoJoMedia) March 7, 2026
She described being 15 or 16 years old at the time, wide-eyed and soaking in the legacy of what Team USA represented, while quietly holding onto the dream of one day earning that jersey herself.
“There’s a reason they’re here. There’s a reason they’ve won gold medals. So just try to soak in their knowledge and follow their lead the best I can,” she added.
Of the three players Clark named, Taurasi stands apart in terms of Olympic hardware. The former Phoenix Mercury guard is the most decorated Olympic athlete in team sports history, having won six consecutive gold medals with Team USA at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024.
Sue Bird, who was officially enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2025 alongside Moore, collected five Olympic gold medals across the same stretch from 2004 through 2021, widely regarded as the greatest point guard in women’s basketball history.
Moore, who won gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016, added two Olympic titles to a resume that also includes four WNBA championships with the Minnesota Lynx and the 2014 WNBA MVP award before stepping away from the game in 2019 to pursue criminal justice reform work.
The timing of Clark’s comments connects to her current involvement with Team USA. Clark is preparing to compete in the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers, alongside Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers. Earlier this month, the Fever shared footage of Clark sinking 22 of 25 three-pointers during a workout, a signal that she is sharp and ready after a 2025 WNBA season derailed by injury.
Growing up idolizing players like Taurasi, Bird, and Moore and now competing alongside and after them is not lost on Clark, who described making her Olympic debut as something she had spent years dreaming about.
That awareness of who came before and what they built appears to be a genuine driver for Clark as she continues to cement her place in the sport’s history. The next generation now looks at her the same way she once looked at the names on those national team jerseys.
