Caitlin Clark rises back to the pinnacle of basketball.

Caitlin Clark Shines in Return to Basketball

Caitlin Clark seems to have regained her spark after a significant injury kept her off the court for much of the 2025 season.

This month, she played for Team USA during the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup qualifying tournament and was named MVP on Tuesday.

In her debut with the national team, Clark averaged 11.6 points and 6.4 assists per game. Team USA finished the tournament undefeated, taking wins against Senegal, Puerto Rico, Italy, New Zealand, and Spain.

This marks Clark’s second MVP award on an international level, the first being from the 2021 FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup.

Her path back to competitive play has been quite challenging, as she only participated in 13 games for the Fever last season. Despite averaging 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, and five rebounds per game, an injury just before the All-Star break sidelined her.

Clark suffered a groin muscle strain followed by a bone bruise on her ankle, which led to her being held out for the rest of the regular season. The Fever was cautious, keeping a close eye on her recovery.

Reflecting on her time away, Clark stated, “I’ve always been someone who relies solely on my work, and I feel like it’s definitely made me work harder,” acknowledging the setback. “But that’s probably also kind of the bad part about it. I felt like I put in so much time and energy last season, and obviously only played in, like, 13 games.”

Worried about how rusty she might be, she managed to score 17 points in the opening game against Senegal, including four 3-pointers, paving the way for a successful tournament.