All eyes are on Caitlin Clark this season, and they’ll continue to be during her entire career, especially after she was crowned as the savior of the WNBA, and potential GOAT before ever playing a game. Many people expected her to be all that was promised from her first day in the league, but the reality is she, like any rookie, will need time adjusting to the league before being at the level of the game’s greatest players. The increased physicality and athleticism in the WNBA has caused her to struggle at the beginning of this season, showcased by the Indiana Fever losing their first 5 games, before finally winning their first game last night against the Los Angeles Sparks. Some of the moves she was able to get away with at Iowa won’t work in the league. She currently leads the league in turnovers, averaging 5.2 turnovers per game. Her first two weeks in the league have not been all bad though! There have been many signs of greatness that showcase her immense potential, including immediately being one of the league’s greatest passers. She has elite court vision, often making passes most players would never even see. There are also moments where she completely takes the game over for a few minutes, often making deep threes, a glimpse into what she was at Iowa, and what she could be in the WNBA. While there have been games when her shot was not falling, but her ability to still contribute to the game with the elite passing, a surprisingly good rebounding performance, and timely steals have been one of the most promising aspects to the start of the season. Let’s take a look at how she fared during each game of her first two weeks of her WNBA career.
Game 1 Indiana Fever @ Connecticut Sun 92-71 L
20 Points, 0 rebounds, 3 assists, 10 Turnovers, 4 Personal Fouls
This was Caitlin’s welcome the league moment as she struggled mightily during her debut, mostly in the first half. The defense of DiJonai Carrington and two quick fouls led to a very frustrated Clark. She had no answer for the Sun trapping her in a corner, which often led to turnovers, although there were some passes she made that her teammates just weren’t ready for. On a positive note, she seemed to get her shot going in the second half, catapulted by a deep three made with 30 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. During the 2nd half she was ultra aggressive in finding her own shot, and finished with a team-high 20 points.
Game 2 vs New York Liberty @ Indiana Fever 102-66 L
9 Points, 7 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 3 Turnovers, 5 Personal Fouls
Caitlin didn’t shoot well in this game, going 2-8 from the floor and 1-7 from the three point line. She struggled with fouls again and this game got away from the Fever quickly. Clark missed some relatively easy and open threes in this one, but it was a great sign that she was able to still affect the game with her rebounding and assists while also cutting down on her turnovers. It’s possible Caitlin put too much pressure on herself to perform in her home debut and that is what led to her poor shooting performance.
Game 3 Indiana Fever @ New York Liberty 91-80 L
22 Points, 6 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 8 Turnovers, 3 Personal Fouls
In her first game playing in New York, Caitlin did not disappoint. She shot 9-17 from the floor (53%), and 4-10 from the three point line (40%), leading to 22 points. Her turnovers were once again a problem, and ultimately was a part of the reason they lost this game, but it was clear that her plan was to be as aggressive as possible. She was aggressive from the jump, and carried the load offensively in this game. It was a good sign as she looked as confident as ever, possibly due to the huge New York crowd.
Game 4 Connecticut Sun @ Indiana Fever 88-84 L
17 Points, 3 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 5 Turnovers, 5 Personal Fouls
Facing off against the Sun once again, the Fever were determined to not get embarrassed like they did in their season opener, and came very close to coming out with a win. This game was quite scary after Caitlin injured her ankle in the 2nd quarter and had to go to the locker room. She would return and then play very well, even hitting a logo three that gave Indiana the lead early in the fourth quarter. In one of her worst moments of the season, Clark had the ball stolen from her, then fouled in transition, and then argued with the ref, resulting in a technical foul. The Fever were up one with 3:37 left in the fourth quarter, so this was a major turning point, but she did make up for it with a game-tying layup with a minute left in the game. At the end of the game, Aliyah Boston missed what would have been a game tying layup, but Clark’s gravity really opened up the lane for Boston. Overall a testament to her resilience, Clark came back from injury to give her team a chance to win the game, but a sign of her youth and inexperience, she made a boneheaded mistake late in the game, that might have cost the game.
Game 5 Indiana Fever @ Seattle Storm 85-83 L
21 Points, 7 Rebounds, 7 Assists, 3 Turnovers, 0 Personal Fouls
I really thought this was going to be the Fever’s first win. They had a chance at the end of the game to either tie or win the game, but Clark fumbled an inbounds pass with 10 seconds left which led to a jump ball and turnover. That last possession had to be tough for Clark after coming so close to a victory, but she was the main reason they were in the game in the first place. She carried the offense in the third quarter, hitting two big threes and getting two assists during a 13-0 run the Fever went on. It was huge to see Clark stay out of foul trouble and limit the turnovers while also being as aggressive and well rounded as she was, because we had only seen those things in separate games, but never together in one game. The last possession was what most will remember from this game, but Caitlin really seemed to put it all together in this game against a Stacked Seattle team.
Game 6 Indiana Fever @ LA Sparks 78-73 W
11 Points, 10 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 2 Turnovers, 2 Personal Fouls
The Fever finally got a win in this battle between the first two picks in this year’s draft, Clark and Sparks Forward Cameron Brink. Caitlin did not shoot very well in this game, going 4-14 from the field (29%) and 2-9 from three (22.2%), but it was impressive that she did not let her poor shooting affect the rest of her game. She had her best passing game of the year, with 8 assists, and three of the nicest highlight reel passes I have seen this year. Even though her shot was not falling for most of this game, it started falling when the Fever needed it to. After scoring just 5 points in the first three quarters, she made two late 4th quarter threes that seemed to be the dagger in this game, showcasing Clark's clutch gene. Superstars rise to the occasion when a team needs them to regardless of what happened during the rest of the game, and Caitlin did not disappoint.
Photo by Ashley Landis (AP Photos)
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