There have been plenty of people making a run at Caitlin Clark during her rookie season in the WNBA, as defenses hone in on the Indiana Fever’s star guard as the focal point of their defensive game plan.
Clark hasn’t been one to back down from the competition, however, and after draining a big three-pointer against the Seattle Storm on Thursday night, she could be seen getting face-to-face with one of her opponents.
While walking back on defense after her deep three, Clark could be seen jawing back and forth with Storm’s Victoria Vivians. The pair got up close and in each other’s faces before Aliyah Boston swooped in and pulled her teammate out of the situation.
â Womenâs Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) May 30, 2024
Clark didn’t look too pleased with Vivians as she turned to head back down the court, and they appeared to bump shoulders before being separated.
Officials assessed Vivians and Clark with double technical fouls and play resumed shortly after. Thursday’s incident marks the second technical of the season for Indiana’s prized rookie, having picked up her first in a game against the Connecticut Sun on May 20.
Good morning, Iâm Dan Gartland. I donât think the Timberwolves are going to complete the comeback, but Iâm glad theyâre at least shortening the break before the NBA Finals.
Over the course of her first seven WNBA games, Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark looked like, well, a rookie. She had a handful of solid offensive performances (three games with at least 20 points) but also her fair share of struggles (like a 2-for-8 shooting night in a loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday).
But in Tuesday nightâs game against the Los Angeles Sparks, Clark had her first true superstar game as a pro, scoring 30 points (on 7-of-16 shooting) with five rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks. Sheâs the first rookie since Rhynne Howard in 2022 to have a 30-point game and the first since Sabrina Ionescu in â20 to have 30 points, five assists and five rebounds in a game. Not impressed yet? Clark is the first rookie in WNBA history and just the fourth WNBA player ever to have at least 30 points, five assists, five rebounds, three blocks and three steals in a game.
Thatâs the kind of performance fans expected from Clark when she turned pro, and it was only a matter of time before it became a reality. Every rookie needs some time to adjust to the higher level of play in the pros, and the transition is especially hard for WNBA players who had barely a month between the end of their college season and the start of their rookie year.
But it wasnât all positive news for Clark. For one thing, she also notched seven turnovers. Losing the ball has been the biggest problem for Clark in her brief pro career. She currently leads the WNBA in turnovers per game with 5.3, well ahead of the next closest player, Skyler Diggins-Smith with 4.3. Turnovers are nothing new for Clark. She led the NCAA in that category three times in her college career and ranks third on the all-time list. But if the biggest problem with her game is that she coughs the ball up a little more often than youâd like, thatâs something the Fever can certainly live with.
More disappointingly, the Fever lost the game, 88â82, to drop to 1â7 on the season. Thatâs the second worst record in the league. Only the winless Washington Mystics (0â6) have been worse.
âI think I just played with an aggressive mindset,â Clark told reporters. âI think that was the biggest thingâto play downhill the best I could. We did some good things and then we just kind of shot ourselves in the foot.â
The Feverâs best stretch came immediately after halftime, when they started the third quarter on an 11â0 run to take a 43â37 lead. But the Sparks closed the quarter with an 11â0 run of their own to go up 59â55. The Los Angeles lead swelled to as many as 14 in the fourth quarter as the Fever failed to turn the tide.
âYou don't give yourself a chance ⌠You can't do something right for two and a half quarters and then just stop doing it,â Indiana coach Christie Sides said. âWe were going under some of the screens that were supposed to be going over. We were gambling and getting out of position.
âInstead of us stepping over and stopping them (and) having our teammatesâ back, we're reaching. Thatâs just a lack of discipline.â
The Fever clearly still have a lot to figure out, but the more games like Tuesdayâs that Clark has, the easier the wins will come.
Towns stepped up to keep Minnesota alive vs. Dallas on Tuesday. / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Many heated WNBA discussions began after Chicago Sky's Chennedy Carter committed a hard foul on Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark during Saturday's game.
Even though this situation has been at the forefront of fan and media conversations, the players haven't said too much about what happened. Carter refused to answer questions about Clark after the game, and Sky rookie Angel Reese even skipped her media session, which earned her a $1,000 fine from the league.
Reese spoke out on Monday, though, in regards to conversations surrounding her being seen as a "villain" in contrast to Clark, the No. 1 WNBA draft pick. No matter how people talk about her, Reese admitted she's just happy that the WNBA is getting more recognition. But, she highlighted how there's more stars than just Clark in the league right now.
"People are talking about women's basketball, you never would think they'd be talking about women's basketball," Reese said. "People are pulling up to games. We got celebrities coming to games, sold out arenas. ... Just looking at that, I'll take that role. I'll take the bad guy role, and I'll continue to take that on and be that for my teammates. I know I'll go down in history. I'll look back in 20 years and be like, the reason why we're watching women's basketball is not just because of one person. It's because of me, too. I want y'all to realize that."
Angel Reese:
"We got celebrities coming to games. Sold out arenas...The reason why we're watching women's basketball is not just because of 1 person. It's because of me, too. I want y'all to realize that."
Caitlin Clark is a supporter of all women's sports, not just the WNBA.
Prior to Clark's game with the Indiana Fever on Friday night, an 85-83 Fever win over the winless Washington Mystics, the rookie was asked if she had tuned into Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks, which had tipped off Thursday night.
Clark's response was perfect.
Caitlin Clark was asked if she watched the NBA Finals last night: âI had the womenâs college softball World Series on instead⌠thereâs a girl that pitches for Texas whoâs a freshman that actually lived a couple streets over from me growing up.â
"To be honest, I had the womenâs college softball world series on instead," Clark said. "It was a little bit better of a game, but when I flipped back to the NBA... Yeah I was flipping back and forth."
"Thereâs a girl that pitches for Texas whoâs a freshman that actually lived a couple streets over from me growing up, so I was rooting for the Texas Longhorns, unfortunately, they couldn't get it done. I think that's even just a great display of women's sports and where it's going. I've always been a big fan of women's softball and women's sports across the board, so I was moreso watching that."
Clark did acknowledge that she's watching the finals, though she also admitted that the Indiana Pacers, who lost to the Boston Celtics in the conference finals, not making it affected her interest levels a bit.
But the bigger point here is Clark's unwavering support for women's sports across the board. As arguably the biggest driver of interest in the WNBA at the moment, Clark has the ability to help lift up nearly any other women's sport she supports or has an interest in.
Clark was doing just that by bringing attention to the women's college softball world series.
