A'ja Wilson and Diana Taurasi Joke About 'Little Weather Issue' at Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony

A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi were honored to be on the Team USA boat during the Olympic opening ceremony, but the U.S. women's basketball stars say the heavy rain definitely put a damper on their Parisian parade.

"We got a little weather issue," Wilson, 27, jokes with PEOPLE during a press conference on Saturday, July 27 in Paris alongside Taurasi, 42, and Stewart, 29.

Wilson says the downpour unfortunately made her "not really as into everything as I wanted to be" during the experience.

"I actually got back and put it on BBC," Taurasi, who is competing for a sixth gold medal in Paris, quips with a smirk. "That's the tricky part about being in opening ceremonies — you're a part of it but you're really not a part of it."

Although the athletes "didn't get to see the performances and the lighting and the beautiful landscape," Taurasi says it's "always special when you're with the whole delegation of people, with other participants and athletes that give up their whole lives and sacrifice for this one moment."

"And if anything, that's the one thing we can all relate [to]," continues the Phoenix Mercury vet. "So it's always cool being around every other athlete that's given everything to be there and that's always my biggest takeaway from being at opening ceremonies."

The rain began shortly after the start of the ceremony, just as the athletes set sail on the Seine River, and continued throughout the event. Most attendees in the stands utilized umbrellas and ponchos, but many fans left early because of the heavy rain.

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For Wilson — who was named the 2024 female athlete of the year at the ESPYs earlier this month — the highlight of the evening was collecting a lanyard full of special Olympic pins.

"I'm not trying to flex but I a got a breakdancing pin," the two-time WNBA MVP says. "And a skateboarding pin."

"Pretty legit, yeah, pins were a big deal," Stewart chimes in.

The U.S. women's basketball team will play their first matchup in Paris on Monday, July 29 against Japan.

Other notable players on the U.S. women's basketball team include Wilson's costars on the Las Vegas Aces, Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum, Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, and Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty.

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