Seimone Augustus discusses new-look Team USA on road to LA28; gold standard

Exclusive: Seimone Augustus confident in new-look Team USA women’s basketball: “The standard is gold”

Three-time gold medallist Seimone Augustus reflects on fulfilling her childhood Olympic dream and shares her excitement for the current USA team on the road to LA28.

When Seimone Augustus picked up a basketball for the first time aged five, she immediately fell in love with the sport. She put a poster of the 1996 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team on her bedroom wall, with a singular goal in mind.

“I was like, ‘I’m going to be on that team,’” Augustus told Olympics.com.

At the time, the Olympic Games represented the pinnacle of women’s basketball in the United States.

“I don’t really write down my goals or anything like that, but it was the first time I had ever written some goals,” she continued. “I put it in my iPhone and I only wanted to be a gold medallist once.”

The future champion and her father began working towards this goal with countless hours training in the yard of their home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Twelve years later, Augustus’s Olympic dream became reality.

USA v AUS - Women’s Basketball Final | Beijing 2008 Highlights

USA women claim their 4th consecutive Olympic gold in basketball.

Augustus was selected to represent the United States at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing - an experience that exceeded all her expectations.

The young girl who once stared at the ‘96 Olympic poster on her wall didn’t just participate in the Olympics; she won gold alongside some all-time greats.

But the most meaningful moment of her experience went beyond the court.

“That was the first time I saw my dad cry,” Augustus said. “I was able to put the gold medal around his neck.”

“That was the goal that we had set out to accomplish together.

It was also the beginning of an Olympic journey that would ultimately produce three gold medals.

She won consecutive titles in Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016 , sharing the court with the likes of Lisa Leslie, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, and Candace Parker .

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 01: (L-R) Diana Taurasi #12, Tamika Catchings #10, Sue Bird #6, Seimone Augustus #5 and Tina Charles #14 of the United States stand together on the court in the Women’s Basketball Preliminary Round match between the United States and Turkey on Day 5 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Basketball Arena on August 1, 2012 in London, England.

Seimone Augustus on not being the ‘star’ at Beijing 2008

Her first Olympic experience also taught Augustus that representing Team USA was about more than individual talent.

By 2008, she was already an established WNBA player. The Minnesota Lynx had selected her No. 1 overall in the 2006 WNBA Draft. But on a Team USA roster filled with established legends, her role looked a lot different.

“It was different for me because I wasn’t a star player,” she said. “I mean, we all are stars, but I wasn’t on the starting five.”

As one of the younger players on the roster, the former LSU player had to find other ways to contribute. Veterans DeLisha Milton-Jones and Katie Smith helped her understand that lesson.

“‘Everybody here can score the ball,’” Augustus recalled them telling her. “‘You need some hustle, you need some defence, some rebounding. You need to find some other things to do that’s going to get you seen, but also keep you on the floor and keep you getting playing time.’”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 20: (L-R) Gold medalists Seimone Augustus #5, Sue Bird #6 and Maya Moore #7 of United States celebrate during the medal ceremony after the Women’s Basketball competition on Day 15 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 1 on August 20, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“I just became like the bench player that led, but gave hustle more than anything and energy,” she said.

That lesson stayed with her long after Beijing.

Over 15 seasons in the WNBA, Augustus became one of the most accomplished players of her generation. She spent 14 seasons with the Minnesota Lynx, winning four WNBA championships in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017, before finishing her playing career with the Los Angeles Sparks.

An eight-time WNBA All-Star, she won Rookie of the Year in 2006 and was named Finals MVP when Minnesota captured its first championship in 2011. She also added a FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup gold medal in 2014 and a bronze at the 2006 World Championship with Team USA.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 18: Maya Moore #7 of the United States reacts with teammate Seimone Augustus #5 during a Women’s Semifinal Basketball game between the United States and France on Day 13 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 1 on August 18, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Mark Kolbe

Seimone Augustus’ transition from player to coach

Augustus’ playing career ended in Los Angeles in 2021, but her basketball career evolved, almost immediately.

“Coaching happened so quickly for me,” Augustus said. “I was in training camp, one day, and the next day I was coaching. Literally retired and the next day I was coaching.”

She entered Sparks training camp in 2021 questioning whether her body could endure another WNBA season. After years of battling knee injuries, including an ACL tear in 2009, she knew it was time to stop.

The four-time WNBA champion called then-Sparks head coach Derek Fisher to tell him she was retiring. His response changed the direction of her career.

Fisher offered Augustus a position on his coaching staff.

Her former Sparks teammates even gave her a new nickname: Coach Money.

The move into coaching was not something Augustus had planned. But throughout her playing career, she had been surrounded by coaches who poured knowledge into her, including Fred Williams, Bob Starkey, Cheryl Reeve and Pokey Chatman .

Now she had the opportunity to do the same.

Augustus describes herself as soft-spoken and was initially concerned her voice wouldn’t carry from the sidelines. But she needn’t have worried.

“I’m telling the girls something to do and they’re actually doing it,” she said. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, they really do this. Oh, that worked for me.’”

“From that moment on, I was like, maybe I can do something with this. If anything, I can just at least pour into them and help them achieve their goals.”

In May 2024, the Baton Rouge native returned to LSU, joining Kim Mulkey’s coaching staff and helping develop the next generation of Tigers.

It was another full-circle moment for for Augustus, who became the first former LSU female student-athlete to receive a statue in her honor in 2023. Her No. 33 jersey hangs among the program’s retired numbers.

Now she is helping build the future from the other side of the bench, while learning from the players she coaches, too.

“When you talk about the state of basketball and the things that we’re doing, I’m so proud of the ladies,” she said. “I’m just happy to be able to pour into them. I’m actually learning from them, you know, with the brands and all this stuff.”

“We didn’t have that,” she said, reflecting on the rise of NIL and the emphasis on athletes’ names, images and likenesses. “I was thinking 20 years ago, NIL or just thinking about your name, your image, your likeness.”

Passing the torch to a new generation for LA28

The women’s basketball landscape Augustus entered two decades ago is almost unrecognizable compared to today.

“We won’t have much conversation about what we’re gonna do and what we wanna do,” she added. “Like, we know what we have to do.

“They’re gonna carry the torch well,” she said. “I know they’ll have fun being that we are on our home turf.”

And there is no shortage of young talent.

“I’m super excited because everyone was waiting to see Caitlin Clark on the last Olympic team, but it’s like, no, you gotta wait. We’re on American soil,” Augustus said. “We got a great group of young players from Angel Reese to Caitlin Clark , and maybe JuJu [Watkins] is on this team.”

As Team USA prepares to play in the Olympic Games on home soil at LA28, Augustus sees an opportunity for the next generation to create its own chapter. But the expectation remains the same.

“The standard is gold,” she said. “That’s what it’s always been and that’s what it will always be.”

Picture by 2016 Getty Images

14 - 30 July 2028

LA 2028 | Olympic Games | USA