The Aporia · US stars A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum to miss the FIBA Women's World Cup

US stars A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum to miss the FIBA Women's World Cup

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Feinberg, D. (2026, August 31). US stars A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum to miss the FIBA Women's World Cup. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/us-stars-aja-wilson-and-kelsey-plum-to-miss-the-fiba-womens-world-cup/article_39c5cdd3-271e-54a2-89c4-0eaa1246022d.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

US stars A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum will miss the FIBA Women's World Cup due to health reasons, with Wilson needing a break after shouldering a heavy workload for the Las Vegas Aces and Plum dealing with a lingering calf injury. They will be replaced by Washington teammates Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron. The US team has won every World Cup since 2006, but will now rely heavily on its youth movement in Wilson's and Plum's absence. The team, which includes Olympic medalists Breanna Stewart and others, faces China in their opening match on Friday.

Written by AI on 2026-08-31, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum, two top players for the US women's basketball team, will miss the upcoming FIBA Women's World Cup due to health reasons. Wilson, a four-time WNBA MVP, has been dealing with an intense workload this season and needed a break to rest and prepare for the playoffs. She was voted the most outstanding player of the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2022 World Cup. Meanwhile, Plum has been struggling with a calf injury that hasn't fully healed. In their place, teammates Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, both from the Washington Mystics, will join the team in Germany. The US women's basketball team is seeking to win its seventh consecutive World Cup title, having last finished with a bronze medal in 2006.

Written for “US Women's Basketball Team” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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64/100

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Who wrote this

Doug Feinberg

32 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 32 articles by Doug Feinberg →

Topics

American Americans U.S. WNBA World Cup

Subjects

U.S. GPE · 4× American NORP · 2× Americans NORP · 2× Citron PERSON · 2× Iriafen PERSON · 2× WNBA ORG · 2× A’ja Wilson PERSON · 1× Kelsey Plum PERSON · 1× Kiki Iriafen PERSON · 1× Washington GPE · 1×

Narrative

A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum will miss the FIBA Women’s World Cup for health reasons and will be replaced by Washington teammates Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, USA Basketball announced Monday.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-31

🔮 A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum will miss the FIBA Women’s World Cup for health reasons and will be replaced by Washington teammates Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, USA Basketball announced Monday.

2026-08-31 · Toronto Star

US stars A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum to miss the FIBA Women's World Cup · assertive framing

Claims (18 extracted, 0 hedged)

A’ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum will miss the FIBA Women’s World Cup for health reasons and will be replaced by Washington teammates Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, USA Basketball announced Monday. asserted

Basketball → miss → teammates

Wilson, the four-time WNBA MVP, has shouldered quite a workload in the first part of the season for the Las Vegas Aces and needed a break to rest and get ready for the playoffs. asserted

Wilson → shoulder → playoffs

She was voted the most outstanding player of the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2022 World Cup. asserted

She → vote → Olympics

She will be sorely missed by the United States. asserted

She → miss → States

Plum has been dealing with a calf injury for most of the WNBA season and it still hasn’t 100% healed. asserted

it → deal → season

She was a catalyst in the Paris Games gold-medal contest against France and sparked the Americans to the one-point victory. asserted

She → spark → victory

Iriafen played on the American team that went to Puerto Rico and won the World Cup qualifier. asserted

that → play → qualifier

Citron had to miss that tournament because of an injury, so she’ll be making her national team debut in Germany. asserted

she → have → Germany

The Americans have won every World Cup since finishing with the bronze medal in 2006. asserted

Americans → win → 2006

That World Cup saw American star Lisa Leslie pull out at the last minute because of a car accident that her uncle was in. asserted

uncle → see → that

Without her, the U.S. fell to Russia in the semifinals. asserted

U.S. → fall → semifinals

Without the two veteran players, the U.S. will rely even more heavily on its youth movement. asserted

U.S. → rely → movement

Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers will make their World Cup. asserted

Clark → make → Cup

The young stars will be joined by Olympic medalists Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kahleah Copper. asserted

stars → join → Stewart

Rhyne Howard and Aliyah Boston will also be making their World Cup debuts to round out the team. asserted

Howard → make → team

The U.S. opens against China on Friday. asserted

U.S. → open → Friday

The Chinese team has a huge front line with 7-foot-3 Zhang Ziyu, 6-10 Han Xu and 6-7 Li Yueru. asserted

team → have → Ziyu

The two teams played for the World Cup title in 2022 in Australia. asserted

teams → play → Australia