Downtime is something Caitlin Clark is new to.
The Indiana Fever star rookie told reporters on Wednesday that she will have to adjust to the time off as the WNBA goes on a month-long break before this weekend’s All-Star game and the 2024 Olympics in Paris, which starts next week (the U.S. team will compete without Clarke).
“I said [Fever head coach] Christy [Sides]”I was like, ‘This is probably going to feel really weird,’ maybe not touching the basketball will make you nervous, but it’s better not to touch it,” said Clark, who will make his All-Star debut Saturday at Phoenix.
The 2024 WNBA All-Star Game kicks off at 8:30 p.m. Saturday and Clark will be one of two rookies on the WNBA team, along with Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese, who will play against Team USA before heading to Paris.
Clark, who made WNBA history Wednesday night with a league-record 19 assists, said she will likely take a week off after the All-Star festivities to calm down but will resume rigorous training immediately afterwards.
“I’m going to come back to Indianapolis, train with the team for three weeks, and then I’m going to try and do some stuff on my own,” the 22-year-old said. “I’m just going to take advantage of every opportunity that’s presented to me basketball-wise and physically.”
The break is timely for the Iowa native, who has been nonstop since the Hokies’ regular season began last October and led them to a loss to South Carolina in the NCAA national championship in April, shortly after becoming the Fever’s No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Clark’s historic night came on Wednesday, when the Fever lost to the Wings, 101-93.
Clark set a new franchise single-season record with 213 total points, surpassing the previous record of 18 set in 2020 by then-Chicago Sky guard Courtney VanderSloot.
This marked her third game in her last four games with 20 or more points and 13 or more assists.
It also marked the first time in WNBA history that a player recorded 20+ points, 15+ assists and 5+ rebounds in a single game.
Clarke’s impressive performance came a month after she was left off the Olympic roster, sparking fierce public debate about whether she should have been on the national team.
The U.S. national team (A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi) boasts a wealth of experience, as selection chair Jen Rizzotti emphasized in an interview after the announcement.
“When you make a decision based on criteria, there were other players who were harder to cut because they met more criteria. And then sometimes it comes down to position, (coach Cheryl Reeve’s) style of play and sometimes it comes down to voting.” Rizzotti says: I mentioned Clark’s omission in June.
Casey Wasserman, president of the 2028 Olympic organizing committee, said excluding the Fever star was a “missed opportunity as she was clearly a generational talent at a time when the world was preparing.” From USA Today.
“There was incredible talent in the world, and it’s a shame for all of us. The world wasn’t ready for it,” said Wasserman, who also heads a sports marketing and management company that represents several WNBA players. “Take Diana, for example. [Taurasi] Or Breanna Stewart, or some of our clients who will be joining the team, they’re dominating at a level we’ve never seen before, but the world wasn’t ready for Caitlin Clark to pack the halls the way she did at the Final Four.
“Now we have both of those things so I thought this was a great opportunity and a chance to take the girls team to the next level.”
The Fever, currently seventh in the Eastern Conference, will resume play on August 16th against the Phoenix Mercury.
