The time is now for Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese with U.S. women at the World Cup

Paige Bueckers sees her first major tournament for the U.S. women's national team alongside fellow newcomers Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese as the natural course of one generation replacing another.

The Dallas Wings star wants to be clear, though. This FIBA World Cup — not to mention any Olympic or other international event that might follow — isn't some sort of entitlement.

“We don’t take it for granted and think we’re entitled to it just because we feel like it’s our time now,” Bueckers said. “We had to earn it, we had work for it and we’re all extremely grateful for that. We’ve been competing with and against each other our whole lives, and something that I admire is their work ethic and what it took to get here.”

Team USA begins pursuit of a fifth consecutive World Cup title against China on Friday in Berlin in the first of three games in group play. The WNBA is taking a nearly three-week break to accommodate the tournament.

For Bueckers, Indiana's Clark and Atlanta's Reese, it means putting aside thoughts of the looming WNBA playoffs to start what each would hope is a long international career. They were together when the U.S. won a World Cup qualifier in Puerto Rico in March.

Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi have both moved on after becoming the first to win five Olympic gold medals, with Taurasi adding a sixth in Paris two years ago. Bird had a role in picking a team that includes another first-timer in Clark's Fever teammate, Aliyah Boston.

A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum will miss the World Cup for health reasons, meaning the U.S. will lean a little bit more on a youthful group. Only three players are in their 30s — Las Vegas guard Chelsea Gray at 33 and a pair of 32-year-olds in Breanna Stewart of New York and Kahleah Copper of Phoenix.

Bueckers, Clark, Reese and Boston are 24. And while there are plenty of other stars the U.S. could have chosen — U.S. team veteran Sabrina Ionescu of the Liberty was left off this roster — it's easy to see the four headliners one day matching the longevity of Bird and Taurasi.

“Anytime you wear USA across your chest, it’s a tremendous honor,” Clark said. “And to be surrounded by so many great players, some of which have already won Olympic gold medals, some have been on the World Cup team before. And I get to share it with (Boston), too, so it’s pretty cool and pretty fun, and I’m excited about it.”

Bueckers is the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year who will soon get her first shot at the WNBA playoffs. Clark's Fever have made the postseason each of her three years, although she missed most of last season with a groin injury.

Reese, who was traded by Chicago before the season, is on her way to leading the WNBA in rebounding for the third time in her three years.

Boston, Clark and Bueckers were the No. 1 overall picks in consecutive seasons, while Reese went seventh when Clark was the top pick in 2024. It sure seemed like just a matter of time before this happened with the national team.

“It shows the shift, right?” said Indiana coach Stephanie White, who is on the U.S. staff. “There was a time when Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi were those young ones. There was a time when Tamika Catchings was one of the young ones. And you start to see that shift. And then they become the next generation of hopefully multi-time Olympians. The game couldn’t be in better hands with those guys.”

Reese's Atlanta teammate, Rhyne Howard, is another first-timer. Washington's Sonia Citron, one of the injury replacements, is the youngest at 22 and making her national team debut. The other replacement, Citron teammate Kiki Iriafen, also was with Bueckers, Clark and Reese for the World Cup qualifier.

Taurasi was 42 when she made her final appearance in Paris. Brittney Griner, who is sidelined by a knee injury, will be 37 during the Los Angeles Olympics in two years.

Wilson figures to have a long international career as the next Griner, while Bueckers and Clark certainly look the part as the next Bird-Taurasi set.

“After the Olympics in ‘24, now this is the changing of the guard where all this young influx of talent into the WNBA, it's now their time in USA Basketball,” said Wings general manager Curt Miller, who has spent time on the Team USA staff. “And there's great players coming behind them. So it’s a really fun era, and they will carry the torch of the dynasty moving forward.”

Boston and Bueckers couldn't pinpoint a memory of watching the U.S. Olympic team growing up. But they remember dreaming of it, and watching.

“I just remember USA would always win and they would win by a pretty large margin and gradually as the years went on, the margin of victory closed,” Bueckers said. “The level of competition is getting a lot better and even starting with the (2024) Olympics, how close France was and how talented that team is.”

Opponents likely will never match the depth of talent in the U.S., which is one of several reasons Bueckers will never presume to believe this is the first of many top-tier international tournaments for her.

“I talked about four-time, five-time, six-time Olympians and obviously they can’t play forever, but that doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed a spot and it’s an automatic lock that just because we’re young and we’re up and coming, that we're going to get that,” Bueckers said. “Whether you made the team or not, play like you’re trying to earn your spot, earn your minutes.”

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here