Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne Headline USA's Roster for Rio 2016 Olympics

Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne and Breanna Stewart are among the players who will represent the United States in women's basketball at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.

USA Basketball officially announced the 12-player roster for the Olympic Games on Wednesday. Two-time gold medalist Candace Parker is the most notable star not included in the squad.   

Here's the complete group heading to Rio:

Position	Player	Team
Guard	Seimone Augustus	Minnesota Lynx
Guard	Sue Bird	Seattle Storm
Forward	Tamika Catchings	Indiana Fever
Center	Tina Charles	New York Liberty
Forward	Elena Delle Donne	Chicago Sky
Center	Sylvia Fowles	Minnesota Lynx
Center	Brittney Griner	Phoenix Mercury
Forward	Angel McCoughtry	Atlanta Dream
Forward	Maya Moore	Minnesota Lynx
Forward	Breanna Stewart	Seattle Storm
Guard	Diana Taurasi	Phoenix Mercury
Guard	Lindsay Whalen	Minnesota Lynx

Parker's exclusion from the roster came as a surprise after the two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player helped lead Team USA to gold in both 2008 and 2012. The rise of Stewart, who just finished her collegiate career at Connecticut with four straight national titles, forced the staff into a tough decision.

The 30-year-old veteran told Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press on Tuesday she learned of the team's choice last week: "I was surprised and disappointed. Having gone to last two Olympics, I know what it means to represent the USA. I wish everybody on the team good luck. The USA is going to win a sixth gold medal."

The American team has been nothing short of dominant in recent Olympic tournaments. It has captured five straight gold medals and seven overall in nine appearances. Four years ago in London, Team USA won all eight of its games, including a 36-point blowout of France in the championship game.

Choosing Stewart over Parker marks the begin of a transition to the next era of what figures to become further United States dominance. The recent first overall pick of the Seattle Storm talked about the importance of getting selected for the Rio Games with Mechelle Voepel of ESPNW:

"

It's definitely been a great year. I've had a lot of great things happen throughout my career, but when you look at the opportunity to be able to go to the Olympics, that was my biggest goal in basketball. Winning a fourth national championship, getting drafted, going to the Storm, and now this. It's really amazing. I can't wait to get going and see what happens.

"

Ultimately, the United States has enough basketball talent to create two rosters good enough to compete for Olympic gold. That means there will always be a couple of snubs when the final squad is announced. Parker is one of the most well-known players to ever miss out, though.

The overall outlook remains much the same. Team USA will arrive in Brazil as heavy favorites and will be expected to win every game in the tournament. Anything less than a sixth consecutive gold medal would qualify as a major surprise.