And the best thing about basketball at the Summer Olympics? Fans got to see the best countries in the world on the court fighting for the gold medal and bringing it home.
And the worst part? There was no WNBA.
The women’s professional league took a three-week break this summer so its stars could represent their home country in Paris. The break was a success for the USA, as the team won its eighth consecutive gold medal by defeating France in the final.
Diana Taurasi won her sixth Olympic gold medal, becoming the first female basketball player to win six gold medals at the Summer Games. The veteran player may not have played as big a role as in previous years, but Taurasi was a key figure in the locker room.
Notably, Caitlin Clark was not with Team USA in Paris. Fans discussed the Fever rookie being left off the national team roster before the games, but it gave the 22-year-old guard a much-needed break. Now that the Olympics are over, Clark will likely step back into the spotlight when the WNBA season resumes.
The Mercury decided to do a little trolling before the season starts up again and took a humorous swipe at Clark in a thank you video for Taurasi on social media.
Here you can find more about the Phoenix team’s video.
MORE: Caitlin Clark Effect brings the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game to Indiana
Mercury troll Caitlin Clark with video tribute to Diana Taurasi
The Mercury used a video previously posted on TikTok to pay tribute to Taurasi, who returns to the U.S. after winning gold at the Olympics.
One user, Rosalina Lee, posted a video about how much she misses the WNBA, including the “assists, the double-doubles, the pre-game outfits, all the post-game tea.”
MORE: US women’s basketball team prediction for 2028 Olympics
She also asked, “Caitlin, where are you?” and that gave the Mercury the alley-oop they needed to attack the rookie. The team paired that clip with a young Phoenix fan saying, “Caitlin who? I’m here for Taurasi.”
@phoenixmercury we’ll take our six-time gold medalist any day of the week, thanks #WNBA #DianaTaurasi #Basketball #PhoenixMercury (Inspo📱: @HoopScoop ♬ Original sound – Phoenix Mercury
While the Mercury have beaten Clark off the court, things are different on the floor. The freshman standout and Indiana have beaten Phoenix in their two previous meetings this season.
The two teams won’t have to wait long to see each other again, as the Mercury and Fever will meet on Friday, August 16th, in the final meeting of the clubs this regular season.
