US women's basketball team are brutally trolled by Caitlin Clark fan at their first Olympics game

The US women's basketball team was brutally trolled by a Caitlin Clark fan before their Olympics opener in Paris.

WNBA sensation Clark was controversially left off the star-studded American roster that is currently in Paris competing for gold.

Clark has taken the WNBA by storm since being drafted by the Indiana Fever. Her presence has led to an explosion of interest in the league and many thought she should have gone to the Olympics.

However, the selection committee decided to overlook Clark in favor of more experienced players who have proven they know how to win on the big stage.

Despite that, one Clark fan took his opportunity to troll the Americans as they warmed up to play against Japan on Monday.

The fan, wearing a Nets and Lakers jersey, held up a sign that read: 'You need Caitlin Clark to beat us.'

The sign was spotted by A'Ja Wilson, Brittney Griner and other American players as they practiced their shooting. 

The fan's sign was, unfortunately for Japan, inaccurate as the Americans began their pursuit of another gold medal with a comfortable 102-76 win.

It comes a day after former Team USA women's basketball coach Dawn Staley said that Clark's form in recent months may have granted her a roster spot if the decision was made later.

Clark was 12 games into her career when the list for Team USA dropped - leaving the Iowa star to watch the Olympics from home.

But when asked by NBC's Mike Tirico about Clark, Staley believes that if the decision for the roster was made closer to the date of the Olympics, that the Fever star might have been included.

'As a committee member, you're charged with putting together [the] best team of players, the best talent,' Staley said.

'Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA. [She] wasn't playing bad, but wasn't playing like she's playing now.

'If we had to do it all over again, the way that she's playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team, because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people, shooting the ball extremely well. 

'I mean, she is an elite passer. She's just got a great basketball IQ, and she's a little more seasoned in the pro game in a couple of months... than she was two months ago.'