Diana Taurasi happy that Caitlin Clark is wearing her Team USA No. 12: ‘Couldn’t think of anyone better’
Until a recent World Cup qualifying tournament game, when No. 12 hit the court for Team USA’s women’s basketball team, it was donned by legend Diana Taurasi. However, with Taurasi’s retirement in 2025, the number became available, and WNBA star Caitlin Clark quickly snagged it.
If anyone’s worried that Taurasi might not want Clark, or any other player, to wear the number, those worries were quickly put to rest, with Taurasi saying it was “cool to see. ” “I spent two decades wearing that jersey and that number, and I couldn’t think of anyone better to take it and put it on and just have an amazing career. And Caitlin will do that,” Taurasi told Sports Illustrated .
“She had a great qualifier down in Puerto Rico. It’s just going to be fun to watch her play in the summer, in Germany, and then, the Olympics. No one better to wear the 12, and Caitlin’s going to put some gold medals on that jersey, you know.
” Clark, who wears No. 22 with the Indiana Fever, made her Team USA debut earlier this month against Senegal and immediately made an impact, logging a double-double (17 points, 12 assists). She followed that with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in a blowout win against Puerto Rico.
Clark scored 12 points and dished five assists in a blowout victory against Italy, totaled 14 points to go with six assists against New Zealand and capped the tournament with seven and seven in Team USA’s 84-70 win against Spain. Clark, the top pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, has averaged 18. 5 points, 5.