Brittney Griner was just trying to fit in when she played in her first Olympics in 2016 at Rio. She came to the 2021 games in Japan with a disposition to dominate.
The 6-9, 30-year old former Baylor 2012 national Player of the Year and seven -time WNBA All Star with the Phoenix Mercury was an unstoppable force for Team USA women’s basketball Saturday night. She used her towering size and multiple post skills to score 30 points on 14 of 18 shooting as the United States overpowered smaller Japan, 90-75, to win their and seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal.
Team USA has now won 55 consecutive Olympic games since 1992, establishing a dynasty in their sport that may never be duplicated. The win had historic significance for 40-year old Sue Bird and 39-year old Diana Taurasi, the Americans’ starting backcourt, who won a fifth gold medal.
Griner has been primed for this moment ever since she attended Nimitz High School in Houston. Starting in her sophomore year, Griner practiced with the boys basketball tea and worked with a Nimitz football coach to develop her leg strength in preparation to learn how to dunk. During her junior season, a YouTube video featuring her dunks was watched more than 2.7 million times. Griner dunked 52 times in 32 games as a high school senior, setting a single-game record of seven dunks against Aldine High School. She also recorded 25 blocks in a game against Houston Hastings, the most ever recorded by a high school girl.
Her career took off from there, She is the only college player to score 2,000 points and block 500 shots, leading Baylor to the 2012 NCAA championship before playing professionally in the WNBA, China and Russia. She is one of only 11 players to earn an Olympic gold medal, FIBA World Cup gold medal, WNBA title and NCAA title, joining Bird, Swin Cash, Tamika Catchings, Cynthia Cooper, Asjha Jones, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, Sheryl Swoopes, Diana Taurasi and Kara Wolters on the list.
Griner would be the shining star on most teams.
But Team USA is overflowing with talent. and arguably features seven of the top 10 players in the world.
The Americans exploited their tremendous size advantage against the Japanese, whose biggest player was just 6-1. Team USA, which shot 54 percent, got 19 points and five blocks from their 6-5 center A’ja Wilson and 14 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots from 6-4 wing Breanna Stewart., who has been a major mismatch problem for anyone throughout the tournament.
Japan, which won its first medal in women’s basketball, did well to keep it as close as 50-39 at half on the strength of six three pointers, but in the end, they couldn’t stop Team USA in the paint and couldn’t score inside against an American defense that blocked 12 shots.
It has been impressive watching this team grow up after they lost to exhibition games to the WNBA All Stars and Australia in Vegas. Team USA was totally locked in throughout the medal round, blowing away France, Serbia and Japan with drama free second halves.
This will likely be the last hurrah for Bird and Taurasi, who have accomplished so much in their careers. Team USA coach Dawn Staley played them for long stretches against a balanced, technically sound Japanese team, which plays 12, often has five shooters in the lineup, runs at a100 mile per hour clip and understands how to spread the floor. But Taurasi was very effective feeding the post and finished with eight assists to go with her seven points and eight rebounds.
Bird and Taurasi both deserve to take a bow before they walk off into the sunset and allow Team USA to replenish the backcourt with younger talent like Olympic backups Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd, and Ariel Akins, Arikie Ogunbowale from the Dallas Wings and both sophomore Paige Bueckers and incoming freshman point guard Azzi Fudd from the University of Connecticut before they defend their title at the Paris games in 2024.
