Team USA will be flying to Berlin for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup without two of the biggest WNBA stars today. On Monday, USA Basketball announced that Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson “are no longer able to compete in Berlin due to health reasons.”
The 32-year-old Plum, who was traded by the Los Angeles Sparks to the Phoenix Mercury in August, has been bothered by lower-body injuries in the 2026 WNBA season, limiting her to just 17 games so far. She is also done for the remainder of the 2026 campaign after only playing five games since the trade.
The 30-year-old Wilson, on the other hand, has been mostly healthy, with the four-time WNBA Most Valuable Player appearing in 37 games. Perhaps Wilson opted out of national team duties to use the long break in the WNBA schedule to rest up for the looming playoffs.
Meanwhile, Team USA will get younger with Plum and Wilson replaced by the Washington Mystics duo of Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, who have both been added to the roster in place of the vets. Citron,22, and Iriafen, 23, are big reasons why the Mystics are headed to the WNBA Playoffs for the first time since 2023.
Team USA will start group play on Sept. 4 against China, then take on Italy and Czechia on Sept. 6 and Sept. 7, respectively.