Dawn Staley left with egg on her face after Caitlin Clark's sensational WNBA return

Dawn Staley was left eating her words following the South Carolina basketball coach's most recent attempt to justify why Caitlin Clark was left off of the U.S. Olympic roster.

On Friday, the Fever rookie returned to WNBA action with thunder, propelling Indiana to a commanding 98-89 win over the Phoenix Mercury and gold medalist Diana Taurasi . Last week, Team USA took home an eighth-consecutive gold medal in the women’s basketball final at the Paris Olympics, narrowly fending off France, 67-66.

Though the Stars and Stripes ended up securing the victory, fans online couldn’t help but speculate that the winning margin would’ve been greater had Clark played. Speaking to NBC on the heels of the U.S. men’s basketball team’s win over Serbia on July 28, Staley provided more insight into why she and the other members of the selection committee chose not to bring Clark to Paris.

• Li Yueru leadership lessons learned during China's Olympic journey

• Nyara Sabally feelings on Olympics and German women's basketball team clear after Paris

“As a committee member, you’re charged with putting together the best team of players, the best talent. Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA,” Staley said. “[She] wasn’t playing bad, but wasn’t playing like she’s playing now.

“If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.”

It didn’t take long for Clark to live up to Staley’s praise. In her first game back from the Olympic break, the 22-year-old finished with 29 points, 10 assists and five rebounds while shooting 8-of-16 from the field.

Follow us on X for the best and latest in sports news

Clark came out firing in the first half, routinely imposing her will on whichever Mercury defender was tasked with guarding her. In the first two quarters alone, she sank three shots from behind the arc, converted two and-1 baskets on back-to-back possessions and dealt four assists.

After hitting her second field goal of the game just over three minutes into the contest, Clark became the first rookie in the history of the WNBA to record 450+ points and 200+ rebounds in a single season, per StatMamba. With 53 points and 29 assists over her last two games, she’s additionally the first player in the league to ever amass over 50 points and over 25 assists during any two-game span.

Prior to Friday’s dominant performance, Clark asserted that there was no bad blood between her and the Olympic selection committee. Speaking to ESPN ahead of the WNBA All-Star Game back in July, she had nothing but good things to say about Team USA, stating: “I have so much respect for Team USA. I have so much respect for their coaching staff. They have the most talented team in the world. They're going to have no issue winning gold.

"I'm going to be supporting them, cheering them on. So for me, this is never a, ‘I should be on that team.’ I know I have so many ways to continue to improve. It gives you motivation for something to compete for in four years. For myself, I feel lucky enough to be here as a WNBA All-Star, and I'm just going to enjoy that."