Lynx stars Sylvia Fowles and Napheesa Collier make U.S. Olympic team

Sylvia Fowles and Napheesa Collier represent the way the U.S. Olympic women's basketball team was assembled.

The Lynx stars were named to the team Monday as two of 12 players who will be going to Japan to play for a country that has won 48 games in a row in Olympic competition.

There is great experience on half of the roster, and the other half will be going to the Olympics for the first time. Fowles, 35, is on her fourth — and likely, last — team in a Hall of Fame career. Collier is going for the first time, still trying to get over the excitement of realizing a childhood dream.

"It's still surreal," Fowles said in a conference call.

"Making the Olympic team, obviously, is a huge goal," said Collier, at 24 years and nine months the team's youngest player. "To be here, it's just crazy."

The team will be coached by Dawn Staley, who won three gold medals as a player and was an assistant for two more. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve will be one of her assistants.

The team? Old and new.

The ageless Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi will be going for their fifth gold medals in Japan, Fowles her fourth, Tina Charles her third, Brittney Griner and Breanna Stewart their second.

And then the first-timers: Jewell Loyd, A'Ja Wilson, Ariel Atkins, Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Chelsea Gray.

That group will be looking to continue the United States' dominance. The team has won gold in eight of ten Olympics Games and hasn't lost a game while winning the past six.

But, on a more personal level, it finds teammates Fowles and Collier in a position to enjoy the experience together from very different perspectives.

"I'm excited for Phee," Fowles said. "I was super excited for my first one, so I can't imagine the thoughts going through her head. I just hope she'll have a memorable one."

Said Collier: "I'm excited to be on this team with Syl, because I don't know how many more years she's going to play. To be able to go to her last Olympics with her is such an honor. It's so cool to be able to learn from her, every single day, is amazing. We have the six younger players, we get to learn from the people have been here, time and time again. This is obviously something we have to soak up."

The 12-player team was drawn from just five WNBA teams. Phoenix (Taurasi, Griner, Diggins-Smith) and Seattle (Stewart, Bird, Loyd) each had three players named. Minnesota (Fowles and Collier), Washington (Charles and Atkins) and Las Vegas (Wilson and Gray) each had two.

Five of the players — Taurasi, Stewart, Bird, Charles and Collier — played their college ball at Connecticut.

Collier and Wilson will have the opportunity to do at least one episode of their popular podcast "Tea with A and Phee" from Japan.

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the games will be played without fans. And while that players got used to that playing in the WNBA bubble last season, Fowles said it will be hard. And the players likely won't have the freedom to explore their surroundings like they usually would.

But that doesn't change the goal, which is gold. Or the honor, which is real.

Fowles' advice? "Have fun, play hard and enjoy the moment," she said.

No problem there. Collier said she got the call while on the bus to the airport with her teammates. She's been watching the Olympics since she was a child, so this is special. "I don't think anything can compare to the first time you go to the Olympics," Collier said. "It's such a huge milestone, something I'm really proud of."

Collier was asked which would be better, Olympic gold or a WNBA title. "I can't choose, it's too hard," she said. "I want them both."

• Guard Layshia Clarendon, who played with the Lynx on temporary deals, re-signed Monday. Clarendon has started seven of the past eight games, averaging 7.5 points and 4.8 assists per game.