Caitlyn Clark of Indiana Fever is a different player — and a much better female basketball player — now than she was back in May as she jumped to the WNBA almost directly from a long season at Iowa. Some of that is getting adjusted to the pro game. Some of that is figuring out how to play with her teammates — and her teammates figuring out how to play with her.
And some of that, at least these last two games when she played her best professional basketball yet, might be finally getting a chance to exhale.
The Indiana Fever — 12-7 since a 1-8 start — are firmly in position to make the playoffs. They play Saturday in a huge game against potential playoff opponent Minnesota, coached by Cheryl Reeve, who also led the U.S. women in the Olympics.
Indiana is still attracting massive television numbers. Last weekend, 2.3 million tuned into the Fever's game against Seattle. That was 263 percent more than the next highest non-Fever game over the weekend (New York v. Las Vegas) and 454 percent higher than the next biggest.
Now, imagine Clark playing at something close to her crowd-pleasing college level in the stretch run and actual playoff series?
The WNBA has historically struggled for attention once the NFL season begins. Maybe not in this case, though. Logo threes and no-look passes tend to turn heads. The Clark phenomenon isn’t slowing down, it’s growing.
In her 11 WNBA games before reports broke that she would be left off the Olympic roster, Clark averaged 15.6 points and 6.4 assists while shooting 35.7 percent from the floor and 29.7 from 3-point range.
In the 15 games between the announcement and the break, she upped all of that to 18.2 points and 9.5 assists while shooting 43.9 percent overall and 35.7 from behind the arc.
In two games since the WNBA’s return, it’s 26.0 points, 9.5 assists with 48.6 percent shooting. More importantly, the Fever won them both.
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