It has been 29 years since the United States Women’s Basketball team has lost at an Olympics and 15 years since they have lost in any major tournament. A gold medal in Tokyo will be their seventh in a row, tying the USA Men’s Basketball team from 1936-1968 for the record in any sport and any gender at the Olympics.

Bookies have the USA as big favorites at -1250 to bring home the gold again in this delayed Olympics. Since falling in the 1992 semifinals to the Unified Team of former Soviet Union nations, the USA is 49-0, and most of the games are blowouts. In the 2016 Rio games, they won by 65, 40, 26, 30, and 43 in the group stage before winning by 46 in the quarterfinals, 19 in the semifinals, and 29 in the gold medal game.

How Many Gold Medals Will Team USA Win in Tokyo?

The roster for this summer has not been set, but there is a player pool of 32 players. The roster deadline for all teams is June 23, and the WNBA will shut down from July 11 to August 15 so players can represent their countries in Tokyo.

Coach Dawn Staley expects to have guards Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi chasing a record fifth gold medal. Forwards Breanna Stewart, A’Ja Wilson, Elena Della Donne, Brittney Griner, Syliva Folwes, Nneka Ogwumike, and Tina Charles provide tons of size and depth. Seimone Augustus has guard experience, and newcomers Arike Ogunbowale, Kelsey Plum, and Jewell Loyd saw significant minutes at the 2018 World Cup.

Staley, who just led South Carolina to the Final Four in April, took over as head coach in 2017, replacing Geno Auriemma, who won gold in 2012 and 2016. Staley was an assistant at the 2008 and 2016 Olympics and won gold as a player in 1996, 2000, and 2004.

Can The Aussies Break Through?

The top contender is Australia at +1000, who lost to the US 73-56 in the 2018 World Cup Final in Spain. Their 6’8” center Liz Cambage led the 2016 Olympics in scoring at 23.5 points per game as Australia won Group A before falling to Serbia 73-71 in the quarterfinals. She also led the 2018 World Cup in scoring at 23.8 ppg as Australia took home the silver medal.

Cambage sat out the 2020 WNBA season but is back with Las Vegas this year, averaging 15.4 ppg and 8.2 rebounds per game in the first 10 games. Her play will go a long way in determining if the Opals are legit gold medal contenders. She could be joined in Tokyo by others with WNBA experience, including Alanna Smith, Cayla George, Sami Whitcomb, Rebecca Allen, Stephanie Talbot, and Ezi Magbegor.

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Spain Looking for Revenge

The Spaniards lost twice to the US in Rio, once in group play and again in the gold medal game. They didn’t get a chance in the medal round on home soil in the 2018 World Cup as they fell to Australia in the semifinals. Now they are +2000 to win the gold and relish the chance for an upset.

The current European champions do not have a WNBA player on the roster. Laura Nicholls has won eight medals with Spain and grabbed 7.3 rpg in their Olympic qualifiers. Laia Palau has played in the most games (286) in Spain’s history and averaged 6.3 assists per game in the qualifiers.

Longshots

At +3000, Serbia might be the best long shot option. They won bronze in 2016, and they are in Group B with only one other top six favorites in Spain. The rest of the group is Canada and South Korea.

France took fourth in 2016, but they are in Group B with the United States, host Japan, and Nigeria. By far, the toughest group is Group C with Australia, Belgium, China, and Puerto Rico. China beat Spain at the Olympic Qualifiers, and Belgium finished fourth at the 2018 World Cup.

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Women’s Basketball Odds for the Summer Olympics

Group play in the women’s tournament starts on July 26. The top 2 from each group plus the two best 3rd place teams advance to the quarterfinals. The Gold Medal Game is on August 8.

USA -1250

Australia +1000

Spain +2000

France +2500

Serbia +3000

Belgium +3500

Canada +4000

China +10000

Japan +10000

Nigeria +25000

South Korea +50000

Puerto Rico +100000

The Team USA men’s basketball team are also big favorites to win gold.