UNCASVILLE, Conn. — This is your life, Caitlin Clark: No. 22 jerseys and their parents in the stands, shrieking girls and wide-eyed adults of all ages, a packed Mohegan Sun. – With electricity running through the arena on Tuesday night, expect incredible three-balls from all the way from Iowa and magical passes that few of the NBA’s smartest players have been able to pull off.
This is your dream life, Caitlin Clark:
“I’m so lucky to be able to do this as my job. This is definitely some of the best moments of my life,” Clark said of the first night of his remaining magical basketball career. I told you before. The night she launched her WNBA career in an Indiana Fever game against her hometown Connecticut Sun on multiple ESPN/Disney+ channels, her legion of fans and admirers, as well as corporate and commercial partners, did the same. What could we do for an encore?” I was caught up in the thought. ” Fever.
But every dream life comes with its share of nightmares, and Caitlin Clark was one of them.
She never imposed her will on that night. She wasn’t the best player on the court. Alyssa Thomas of The Sun was the best. The chemistry between her and her teammates was poor. She zig-zagged and they zig-zagged. Clark made two threes in the fourth quarter when the game wasn’t even close and finished with 20 points (5-of-15 shooting, 4-of-11 from downtown) with just two assists, an incredible 10 points. Recorded the score. A turnover in the Fever’s 92-71 loss to the Sun.
“There’s a lot to learn,” Clark said. “Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad.”
The worst moment for Clark, who wore lime green sneakers, came with two minutes left in the first half when elite defender Dijonai Carrington stripped her at midcourt and scored on a layup.
It seemed like he had momentarily woken up.
Clark shook off a strong foul, spilled under the basket, sank two free throws and made three shots to the left. There was an uproar here in enemy territory. She had missed six of her first seven shots and missed her first three threes. But the first half ended with Clark furious at one of the umpires after losing the ball in a suffocating double team. “Some are nondescript,” Clark said.
The start was even more ugly. She had two fouls, zero points and was on the bench for 4:47 of the final 4:51 of the first quarter. Finally, Clark got on the WNBA board with a driving lay-in with 5:24 left before intermission following a steal.
Welcome to the WNBA, Rookie.
“I think it would have been fun to play better,” Clark said.
In many ways, this was the first night of the rest of the WNBA’s life being dragged out of the shadows of sports consciousness by the Caitlin Clark phenomenon.
She was the main event, and as the fresh, genius face of the Fever and the WNBA, the nation’s attention was glued to her every step at every stop.
Caitlin’s sanity. Caitlin Mania. Caitlin fever. Choose what you like.
She only became queen of the ball a little more than a month ago, but if she can help improve the women’s professional game as much as she has the college game, she will be hailed as royalty.
Lights, camera, Caitlin!
There will likely be some growing pains for Clark as she competes against experienced and physical professionals, but it will be fun to watch her progress.
There’s not a night that goes by that she doesn’t play with a joie de vivre and an intoxicating will to win. There aren’t many nights that don’t allow her court vision to thread the needle with the most beautiful and precise path of poetic movement you’ve ever seen.
Some nights, her long-distance threes will rumble off the rim. There are nights when she drops her admission pass down and it’s so short that it gets stolen.
And Tuesday was one of them.
“Obviously I’m disappointed. No one likes to lose,” Clark said.
Being asked to be the face of the league as a rookie can be a burden, but every step of the way, she has handled the trappings of fame with poise, grace and a maturity befitting a 22-year-old. Although she naturally has moments when she wishes she could feel normal, she has nevertheless managed to accept that she is observed in the public eye. She acknowledges that her 8,910 fans came to see her on Tuesday night. She understands her responsibility to the game.
She opened the door to charter flights for the entire team, increased national television exposure, playing in large, packed arenas, and ultimately paved the way for higher paychecks. Her eight-year contract with Nike is reportedly worth $28 million. If anyone can start closing the door on pay equality, it’s her.
It’s good for her and for the women who will follow. It was good for her to elevate the sport the way she did at Iowa, changing the landscape and the possibilities for little girls and boys with balls and dreams. Good on her for being such an inspiration.
“I think I’m ready for this moment,” she said before the game. “You only get to play your first WNBA game once, so let’s make the most of it and enjoy every second to the fullest.”
Even Jalen Brunson has nights off. There will be better encores.
