Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark has been the biggest storyline of the 2024 WNBA season—from her debut last month against the Connecticut Sun to her 30-point gem against the Los Angeles Sparks to her occasional on-court struggles.
Geno Auriemma, who coached many current WNBA stars at UConn—from Diana Taurasi to Napheesa Collier to Breanna Stewart—weighed in on the on-court physicality that Clark has dealt with over her first 11 games.
“Is she facing the rookie challenge, the rookie hardships that are inherent with being a rookie? Yes,” Auriemma told reporters in Connecticut on Tuesday. “She’s also being targeted.”
During the third quarter of the Fever’s 71–70 win over the Chicago Sky on Saturday, Chennedy Carter slammed into Clark away from the basketball during an inbounding play. Clark said the foul was “not a basketball play,” and Carter’s coach Teresa Weatherspoon later said it was “not appropriate.”
“I don’t remember when [Michael] Jordan came into the [NBA], guys looking to go out and beat him up,” Auriemma said. “I don’t remember when [Larry] Bird and Magic [Johnson] came in the league and elevated the NBA, them getting targeted and getting beat up just because of who they were and the attention they were getting.
“Appreciate the fact that now’s the time [for the WNBA]. I get it. It’s long overdue. Why are you blaming that kid? It’s not her fault, because you would trade places with her in a minute, but you are not there. You’re not her. So, you’re [complaining] that she’s getting what she’s getting.”
After playing 11 games in less than three weeks, Clark and the Fever are resting until Friday night’s matchup against the Washington Mystics.
If you think Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark's rise over the last four years—from Des Moines-area high school basketball star to one of the most transcendent college athletes ever—has 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.
Caitlin Clark put all doubts about her game translating to the WNBA level to rest in the first few minutes of her preseason debut with the Indiana Fever.
Clark, the No. 1 pick by the Fever in the 2024 WNBA draft, started Friday's preseason opener against the Dallas Wings. It took Clark just 54 seconds to drill her first (unofficial) WNBA three-pointer. And in classic Clark fashion, it was from way deep—28 feet, nearly six feet beyond the WNBA three-point line and four feet past the NBA line.
By the end of the first quarter, Clark had nailed a trio of three-pointers and tallied a game-high 11 points. The Fever, however, trailed Dallas 26–23 after 10 minutes of play.
After Friday's contest wraps up, Clark and the Fever will finish off the two-game preseason schedule Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Clark will make her WNBA regular-season debut May 14 against the Connecticut Sun.
1. You rarely see Stephen A. Smith left speechless, but that was the case on Monday morning’s episode of First Take thanks to panelist Monica McNutt.
After a discussion on Chennedy Carter’s cheap shot foul on Caitlin Clark that was the talk of the sports world over the weekend, Smith tried to take credit for his show giving extensive coverage to the WNBA.
McNutt, however, was not having it.
“Who talks about the WNBA, who talks about women’s sports more than First Take,” asked Stephen A.
McNutt was not having the revisionist history.
“Stephen A., respectfully, with your platform you could’ve been doing this three years ago if you wanted to,” replied McNutt.
This left Smith stunned and all he could muster was a pair of back-to-back “wows.”
A little back-and-forth followed:
McNutt: “You know you’re my guy…”
Smith: “Who does more than us?”
McNutt: “Stephen A., I’m talking to you. Don’t do that. I’m talking to you about the power than you have.”
Smith: “OK, OK. I got it. You’re my girl, but you missed a lot episodes of First Take. You missed a lot.”
McNutt: “Stephen A., three years ago you would not talk about the WNBA at this level. Don’t do that.”
It’s one thing for McNutt to disagree with Stephen A., but after he challenged her, she doubled down and didn’t back down. That was impressive.
Sadly, moderator Molly Qerim cut off the discussion, which could’ve been riveting television of McNutt and Smith continued to argue over First Take’s coverage of the WNBA.
I don’t want to paint the media with one brush, but as someone who covers this stuff, I’d say 99% of sprots media, including First Take, did not cover the WNBA the way they’re covering it now. And even now, they’re not covering the WNBA.
They’re covering Caitlin Clark.
2. I don’t follow the WNBA, so I don’t know what the unwritten rules are or what protocol is for something like this. However, if I’m just comparing it to the NBA game, what I don’t understand about the foul that Chennedy Carter committed against Caitlin Clark is how none of Clark’s Fever teammates went after Carter and just let her get away with the cheap shot.
It's also good to see the refs in the WNBA are just as incompetent as the refs in all the other sports by calling this a common foul. (It got changed to a Flagrant-1 the following day.)
3. Since there has been a massive amount of coverage regarding the future of Inside the NBA over the past few weeks (especially in this column), I thought this nugget was worth sharing.
Last Thursday, more people watched Inside the NBA on TNT (2.8 million) after the Mavericks eliminated the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals than Game 5 of the Panthers-Rangers Eastern Conference Finals game on ESPN (2.1 million).
Mavericks/Timberwolves game 5: 6.3 million (6.148m on TNT, 114K on truTV)
Inside the NBA (11:01-11:53P): 2.8m
Panthers/Rangers on ESPN: 2.1m
College Softball World Series on ESPN2:
Oklahoma St/Florida: 783K Stanford/Texas: 697K
— Sports TV Ratings (@SportsTVRatings) May 31, 2024
4. As proven here by Clemson, all of baseball needs more attempts at the hidden ball trick.
5. It has to be demoralizing for a hometown team when the fans in the stands are rooting for the opponent. Look at what took place in the San Francisco Giants’ ballpark on Sunday when New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the 9th.
Look at all the Yankee fans stand up when Juan Soto made contact.
6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with Charles Barkley.
The Inside the NBA host discusses the possibility of TNT losing the NBA in the current television rights negotiations, his frustration with the lack of communication from Warner Brothers Discovery about the negotiations, whether the show could continue on another network, reaction from fans to the possible end of Inside the NBA, the awkwardness of still having to work next season for TNT if it loses the NBA beginning in the 2025–26 season, and the lack of loyalty from the NBA and what would make him decide between ESPN, NBC and Amazon if he became a free agent.
Barkley also goes off on CNN for never telling him that his show with Gayle King, King Charles, was canceled, he explains what could make him be the subject of a comedy roast, who the two nicest GOATS are in sports, the Lakers saying that LeBron James doesn't have a say in their coaching search and the reaction to his recent Caitlin Clark rant.
Following Barkley, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY joins me for the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week's topics include the passing of Bill Walton, Ángel Hernández's retirement from Major League Baseball, the mystery behind the Dov Kleiman Twitter account and the latest story about a restaurant charging for a ridiculous service.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Since hard fouls against Caitlin Clark are all the rage these days, let’s take a look at some of the hardest fouls in NBA history.
