The running joke this year is that the U.S. women’s basketball squad is the real Dream Team. With a roster laden with WNBA All-Stars and no high-profile players refusing to make the trip, the American women present a formidable obstacle to the other 11 teams competing in the Olympics.

The U.S.roster reads like a who’s who of the biggest names in international basketball. Center Lisa Leslie remains the focal point, and the surrounding talent is much better suited to the international game than the men’s team. Post players like Tina Thompson and Tamika Catchings can step outside and hit the outside shot, while defenses that sag on Leslie will get payback from shooters like Katie Smith, Sue Bird, and Diana Taurasi.

These players are right in the middle of their season and in peak shape, unlike the American men. What could give them trouble, however, is the international ball; at 30.7 inches around,it is a bit larger than the 29-inch ball used in the WNBA. There are also slight rule changes to contend with – a cone-shaped key, a shorter 3-point line, near-blind referees.

The biggest cause for concern is the injury bug that has hit the U.S. team of late. Smith, the most important outside shooter, and Sheryl Swoopes are battling injuries suffered in WNBA play, although both insist they’ll be ready. Even so, the U.S. juggernaut can survive their absences, but it could get interesting if other dominoes start falling.

Van Chancellor, who led the Houston Comets to the first four WNBA championships, provides a steady hand at the helm of the team. He has the good fortune of an easy draw that will result in the U.S. not playing an important contender until the semifinals.

Overall, this is the Americans’ tournament to lose.The gap between the U.S. women and the rest of the world is immense: Only four WNBA players will play for other countries. The U.S. won all eight games at the Sydney Olympics by double figures, and hasn’t lost internationally in over a decade. The American women’s stranglehold on basketball gold looks to be intact for the foreseeable future.

Nonetheless, the best player in the Olympics is Australian. Lauren Jackson of the Seattle Storm is the reigning WNBA MVP, and gives the “Opals” a glimmer of hope, though it would take a monumental effort to wrest the gold medal away from the deeper, quicker American team. Joining Jackson on the Australian team is another WNBA star, forward Penny Taylor of the Phoenix Mercury. While the Australians probably will settle for silver, their spandex onepiece uniforms are sure to be a hit.

Australia’s main competition for silver comes from Russia, the last non-U.S. team to win gold in 1992.They have two solid WNBA vets in Svetlana Abrosimova of Minnesota and New York’s own Elena Baronova. However, they lack a player of Jackson’s caliber, which should leave them wearing bronze.

Brazil won bronze in 2000, and is led by former Houston Comets star Janeth Arcain,who took the year off to train with the club. China won the Asian championship last year and, much like on the men’s side, is a rising force. Other medal hopefuls include South Korea and the Czech Republic.