Amid the Indiana Fever’s winless start to the season, star guard Caitlin Clark got a reassuring phone call from her dad. On Saturday, Indiana fell to the New York Liberty, 91-80, marking their third loss in as many games.
Clark, to her credit, had her best offensive performance in the WNBA to date. The 22-year-old amassed career-highs in points (22) and assists (eight), leading the Fever in both categories in the contest.
Like any rookie, it will take time before Clark is able to find her footing at the professional level. Indiana’s schedule hasn’t done the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft any favors, either, with the Fever immediately facing off against two of the premier teams in the league in the Liberty and Connecticut Sun.
“The biggest challenge for myself coming from college to the professional level is, you know, obviously first of all, the physicality, but second of all, being competitive, but also understanding this is a young group, this is a young team, I’m young,” Clark told reporters during a post-game press conference. “It’s going to be a learning process, not everything’s going to be perfect.
“I was talking to my dad on the phone and he just said, ‘Go out there, have fun, compete, play hard, and every day you’re going to learn something new. And just take that and continue to build on it and things will really start clicking when they should.’”
Clark experienced no shortage of success at the collegiate level, leading Iowa to back-to-back national championship games the last two years. As the NCAA’s Division I all-time scoring leader continues to chase her first WNBA win, she emphasized the importance of remaining positive.
Caitlin Clark finished with 22 points and eight assists against the New York Liberty
“I’m just trying to remind myself, like, I know this is my job now, but, like, I have fun playing this game and I think that needs to be my focus through the course of this year,” Clark continued. “It’s just like, have fun, that’s when I’m at my best, too, and that’s when I was at my best in college.”
Through the first three games of the season, Clark is averaging 17 points, 5.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds. But the former Hawkeye is shooting just 40 percent from the field – down 5 percentage points from her final season at Iowa – and has turned the ball over 21 times.
“I think the media needs to give her a little bit of grace and time to develop into a player,” Liberty center Jonquel Jones said. “She’s learning every game she’s out there. Her impact on this league is going to be tremendous and only grow as she matures.
“But just give her some time, man. Look at Kelsey Plum and how it was for her when she first came into this league and the player that she is now. Just give her some grace.”
