evidence: This year, the scrutiny around of the selection process was intensified by the Caitlin Clark Effect, with fans and analysts marshaling various arguments to insist that the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft must be on the squad. That she wasn’t chosen indicates that USA Basketball, often accused of prioritizing things beyond basketball skill when selecting Olympic rosters, resisted falling prey to popularity, and all the intersecting biases that fuel it, when naming the final roster. [...] The Canadians sport their most talented team in program history, with a quartet of WNBA players looking to lead Canada to the medal that eluded them at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Qualification, however, was a bit of an adventure for the Canadians. After losing to Japan at the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Sopron, Hungary, Canada’s Olympic hopes were saved by Spain’s victory over Hungary, which required a more than 20-point comeback. Canada has to hope such fortune from the basketball gods follows them to Paris.