A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum Withdraw From FIBA World Cup as USA Basketball Reshuffles Roster
USA Basketball just lost its two biggest guns for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup. A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum are both out, and the timing could not be worse.
Plum is dealing with a lower leg and calf injury that has bothered her all season, and she will also miss the rest of the WNBA year with the Phoenix Mercury. She confirmed it on social media. “I did everything I could to be back on the court, but just ran out of time.”
Wilson’s absence is more complicated. She has played in all but three games for the Aces this season. She is not carrying a public injury. USA Basketball listed her withdrawal as health-related, which reads a lot like rest and workload management.
You cannot blame her. Wilson is a three-time MVP who has carried Las Vegas through another long summer. Taking a global tournament off to protect her legs for a title chase is smart, even if the timing hurts Team USA.
The replacements are Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen of the Washington Mystics. Both are talented. Neither is A’ja Wilson.
USA Basketball has dominated the world stage for decades because the roster was always ridiculous top to bottom. Losing the reigning MVP and the reigning Rookie of the Year’s backcourt partner in the same week is not a small hit. It is a real hit.
The good news is the roster still has stars. Breanna Stewart is still in her prime. Sabrina Ionescu is one of the best pull-up shooters on the planet. Napheesa Collier just wrapped a season that put her in every MVP conversation. That is a plenty deep core to work with.
The concern is chemistry. This is a group that will now build around a very different starting lineup than the one originally imagined in the spring. That does not sink a Team USA squad, but it does open the door for teams like Australia, France, and China to make things uncomfortable.
Plum’s future beyond the World Cup is the bigger question here. Two straight calf-related injuries in one season is not something to shrug at. She is 32. She has miles on her legs. The Mercury built their offense around her ability to attack switches and dance through pick-and-rolls.
If she comes back at 90 percent next spring, Phoenix is fine. If she comes back at 70, the Mercury are in trouble.
For now, Team USA will figure it out. That is what Team USA does. The gold medal is still the expectation. The path there just got a little more interesting.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
