Caitlin Clark is inevitable. She’s put together one of the most impressive rookie seasons in WNBA history. As the season came to a close, Clark ended her rookie year with another staggering statistic. She scored the most points by a point guard in a single season, according to Stat Mamba.
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After her historic final year at Iowa, many speculated that Clark wouldn’t be as remarkable in the WNBA. They were wrong.
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The Indiana guard has done nothing but send shockwaves throughout the league and the world of sports. She’s undeniably talented.
After a 1-8 start, the Fever pursued a new identity. Clark and her teammates Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell weren’t on the same page.
The team was dissected from all sides. Opinions exploded about Clark, the Fever, and just about every aspect of their first nine games.
Indiana transformed themselves into one of the best teams in the league. The Fever went from potential playoff contenders to one of the scariest postseason squads.
“I think that’s probably what I’m most proud of,” Clark told ESPN last week. “We start 1-8, and that really stinks. But nobody ever quit. We came in here every single day and continued to work. … We just weren’t executing. We weren’t really on the same page. We weren’t playing the same way that we are now. I’m proud of our group. We just continue to work and get better and be positive.”
Clark has never revealed her own thoughts on the heated debate surrounding her performances. Like all special players, the dialogue surrounding the rookie was often negative or critical.
It hasn’t affected Clark, or at least that’s what it seems like. Fever guard Erica Wheeler described it best.
“I think she really can’t hear because she’s really blocked out the noise from the outside world,” Wheeler said. “To be that young, to have that weight on her shoulders, no matter what she does gets highlighted, whether it’s good or bad. … I tell her all the time, ‘You probably got bricks in your ears, you really don’t flinch when it comes to the outside noise.'”
Clark may never break her silence about the negative attention she’s received. But nobody can deny her greatness and she’s made sure of that through her performance on the floor.
In some ways, her silence is an answer. She lets her performance speak for itself.
Clark and the Fever’s next test is their first playoff game against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
For more on Clark, head to Newsweek Sports.
