It’s Way, Way Too Early To Give Up On Caitlin Clark

DALLAS, TEXAS - APRIL 02: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes reacts during the third quarter against the LSU Lady Tigers during the 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament championship game at American Airlines Center on April 02, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Despite an 0-5 record and injury scare to begin her WNBA career, Caitlin Clark is not losing hope as the Indiana Fever go through early growing pains. The team finished dead last in the Eastern Conference last season and Clark has not singlehandedly turned things around like some hoped she would.

“You’re never happy to lose,” Clark said after an 85-83 loss to the Seattle Storm. “It’s not fun, but at the same time there’s just a lot of things to build on. I’m just trying to be as positive as possible, continue to learn, continue to stack days. I know that first win will be right around the corner.”

Like any college athlete making the transition to the pros, Clark is struggling in her early days in the WNBA. She is still scoring 17.8 points per game, far from a disastrous result through five games, but the team has not yet benefitted from her efforts.

Visually, she has oscillated between brilliant flashes of talent and simple rookie mistakes. She also suffered a minor injury against the Connecticut Sun on Monday but returned in the second half to finish the game, scoring 17 points.

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.

As she tries to step up to this next level of basketball, Clark has received significant criticism from people who resent the level of attention she has received. Those people have not been as forgiving of her age, nor do they seem to be aware of the state of the Fever before her arrival.

Not only is Clark an extremely inexperienced rookie finding her way, but for those somewhat new to the WNBA, it’s easy to forget that Indiana had the first-overall pick for a reason. Even with young star Aliyah Boston on the roster, the team wasn’t even close to contention last year. She and Clark have the potential to lead this team in time, but there is still much to learn.

“We’re, what, six points away from being 2-3 instead of 0-5?” Clark said Wednesday. “It’s that close. There’s so many instances of going back and watching the film of like little things that you can easily fix and clean up … I think you have to find confidence in that, especially at this point, being 0-5. If you just get upset by it, I don’t think that’s going to be too beneficial for us.”