Diana Taurasi couldn’t be happier about Cailtin Clark being the heir to her famed #12 Team USA jersey. Clark made her debut wearing Taurasi’s number at the 2026 FIBA World Cup Qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico earlier this month and won the MVP award. Clark led the USA in points, assists and efficiency, playing alongside other All-Stars, Kelsey Plum, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, Kahlea Copper, Rhyne Howard and more.
On Monday, Taurasi hailed Clark during an interview with reporter Grant Young, saying there was no one better to adopt her USA jersey than the Fever superstar.
It’s so cool to see Caitlin not only wear the USA jersey, number 12. I spent two decades wearing that jersey and that number, and I couldn’t think of anyone better to take it and put it on and just have an amazing career. And Caitlin will do that.
“She had a great qualifier down in Puerto Rico. It’s just going to be fun to watch her play in the summer, in Germany, and then the Olympics. No one better to wear the 12, and Caitlin’s going to put some gold medals on that jersey, you know.”
Caitlin Clark fans were excited after the legendary Diana Taurasi endorsed their favorite player.
One fan even taunted Paige Bueckers and the UConn fans, as former Husky Taurasi expressed that Clark was the perfect player to wear her jersey, saying:
“UConn fans crying in the corner.”
“goat x baby goat love,” another said.
“About time she recognized. It’s the passing of the torch from one GOAT to another,” one fan added.
“Angel Reese and Paige fans would be so mad if they knew how to read right now,” one fan wrote.
“Your are a CLASS ACT Diana Taurasi!!! Stay well!!” another said.
Diana Taurasi had no involvement in handing Caitlin Clark the No. 12 jersey
Diana Taurasi revealed she didn’t have a hand in ensuring Caitlin Clark got the No. 12 jersey. Taurasi has been away from basketball since retiring, and she reiterated that once “she’s out, she’s out.”
However, Taurasi believes one of her best friends and closest former college and USA teammate, Sue Bird, may have played a role in it.
“You know, once I’m out of things, I’m out,” Taurasi told Grant Young. “Maybe Sue, you know, she’s a little bit more calculated than people think. So maybe that was a Sue job. That wouldn’t surprise me.”
Bird was elected as the first-ever managing director of Team USA basketball in 2025.
Caitlin Clark and other young players debuting for the USA marked the start of another era for the USA women’s basketball senior team. Diana Taurasi played her last major tournament in 2024 at the Paris Olympics, which led to the changing of the guard this year.
