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
If you think Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark's rise over the last four yearsâfrom Des Moines-area high school basketball star to one of the most transcendent college athletes everâhas been the stuff of Disney movies, you are not alone.
Disney+ will debut in the live sports space next Tuesday by airing Clark's WNBA regular season debut, ESPN toldThe Hollywood Reporter Tuesday.
The Fever are slated to open their season against the Connecticut Sun, one of four games scheduled for the league's first day. A second matchup between the Phoenix Mercury and Las Vegas Aces will also air on Disney+.
These two games will be the first traditional live sporting events to air on Disney+, barring a pair of themed animated telecasts of NFL and NHL games.
Clark was selected with the No. 1 pick by Indiana in the WNBA draft out of Iowa on April 15, part of a heralded rookie class that includes Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese and Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink.
Over the last two years, the friendly rivalry between Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese has elevated two gamesâwomen's college basketball and the WNBAâto never-before-seen heights.
Like all truly great sports rivalries, however, Clark and Reese's rivalry is built on mutual respect. On Saturday morning, Clark demonstrated that by praising both Reese and Sky center Kamilla Cardoso before the Fever played Chicago in the afternoon.
"The thing about (Reese), she's been so dominant at what she does ever since we played in high school," Clark said via Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. "She's always had a knack for being able to rebound the ball and that's just translated immediately to the WNBA."
Caitlin Clark had high praise for Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso ahead of todayâs game.
â(Angel) has been so dominant at what she does ever since we played in high school.â
Reese entered Saturday averaging 8.2 rebounds per game, ninth in the WNBA.
"Kamilla caused us a lot of problems in the national championship," Clark said of Cardoso. "Kamilla is just scratching the surface of her potential... it's been a lot of fun to watch those two kind of evolve over their college careers."
Each of the trio had a role to play in Indiana's eventual 71â70 win. Clark scored 11 points, pulled down eight rebounds and gave out eight assists; Reese scored eight points and pulled down 13 rebounds; Cardoso scored 11 points and had six rebounds.