​Almost two years have gone by since the Paris Olympics where we saw one of the most exciting women’s basketball finals to date. The United States narrowly escaped defeat, squeaking by home country France, 67-66.Players, coaches and fans probably still remember French wing Gabby Williams hitting a bank-shot on the three-point line rather than behind it. Inches were between the U.S. winning gold and the game going to overtime. I’m sure many still remember when Breanna Stewart pointed to the three-point line once Williams’ shot went in to indicate to officials that Team USA still had won.Since then, USA Basketball has taken note of how the gap between the U.S. women’s senior national team and the rest of the world only has gotten smaller. This should come as no surprise as international players continue to enter and stick in the WNBA.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAs a result, USA Basketball made a major hire on May 8, 2025. The Federation brought on five-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time WNBA champion Sue Bird into the fold to be the women’s team’s first-ever managing director.What does a managing director do and how is this a change in the status quo for the U.S. women? Bird’s role is a lot like a general manager in other pro sports. She’s responsible for identifying the coaching staff and players for all international competitions, including the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the upcoming FIBA World Cup taking place in Berlin, Germany in less than two months.Previously, Team USA had a committee that would be responsible for selecting players. This committee received criticism over the years for leaving key players off Team USA rosters, including Candace Parker in 2016, Nneka Ogwumike in 2021 and most recently Caitlin Clark in 2024.When USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley was asked why hiring Bird in this role was so critical, he spoke about the advantages of having one person in charge of these critical decisions rather than a group.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”[Bird] is well-rounded and having a managing director versus a committee allows us to be more nimble,” he said. “The sport, the pace of the game and of the business is so much more intense than it used to be. It just helps us be a lot more flexible and get our priorities in. We can strategize long term with a single person versus a committee that kind of comes and goes. This helps us in so many ways.”Back in May of last year, Bird was asked how much she was going to shake up the historical precedent within the U.S. senior women’s national team. For instance, how much will World Cup teams reflect the Olympic team?During the previous three Olympic cycles, at least half of the FIBA World Cup team also would be on the Olympic team two years later. The 2022 World Cup team had eight players go to Paris, the 2018 World Cup team sent six players off to Tokyo and the 2014 World Cup team included nine players that were on the 2016 Rio roster.Bird di