Caitlin Clark expects break to be ‘really weird’ after Olympic snub

Downtime is new for Caitlin Clark.

The star Indiana Fever rookie told reporters Wednesday she will likely need to adjust to the time off as the WNBA enters a month-long break ahead of this weekend’s All-Star Game and the 2024 Olympics, which begin next week in Paris with Team USA competing without Clark.

“I told [Fever head coach] Christie [Sides], I was like, it’s probably going to feel really weird. Like I’m probably going to be like, anxious that I’m not touching a basketball –– but I need to not,” said Clark, who will make her All-Star debut on Saturday in Phoenix.

The 2024 WNBA All-Star Game tips off at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, and Clark will join Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese as one of the two rookies on the WNBA team that will face Team USA before they head to Paris.

After etching her name in WNBA history Wednesday night with a league-record 19 assists , Clark said she would likely take a week off to decompress following the All-Star festivities but intends to resume rigorous training shortly after.

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“Getting back to Indianapolis and really just be there training for three weeks with the team and then try to do a bunch of stuff on my own,” said the 22-year-old. “Basketball-wise and then strength-wise, really just take advantage of every opportunity I have.”

The break is timely for the Iowa product, who has been going non-stop since the Hawkeyes started their regular season in last October, fell short to South Carolina in the NCAA national championship game in April, followed closely by the 2024 WNBA Draft, where she was selected by the Fever as the No. 1 pick.

Clark’s historic night Wednesday came in a 101-93 Fever loss to the Wings.

Frustrated Caitlin Clark slams water bottle in tense moment during Fever loss

Clark surpassed the record of 18, set in 2020 by then-Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot, establishing a new franchise record with a season total of 213.

This was her third game in the last four with at least 20 points and 13 or more assists.

It was also the first time in WNBA history that a player has recorded at least 20 points, 15 assists and five rebounds in a one game.

Clark’s impressive streak comes a month after she was left off the Olympic roster , which sparked a fierce public debate about whether she should’ve been on the team.

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Team USA –– featuring A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi –– boasts extensive experience, as highlighted by selection committee chair Jen Rizzotti in a post-announcement interview.

“When you base your decision on criteria, there were other players that were harder to cut because they checked a lot more boxes. Then sometimes it comes down to position, style of play for (coach Cheryl Reeve) and then sometimes a vote,” Rizzotti said in June when addressing Clark’s omission.

According to Casey Wasserman, the president of the 2028 Olympic Organizing Committee, excluding the Fever’s star was “ a missed opportunity because she clearly is generational talent at a time when the world was ready for it,” per USA Today .

“There have been incredible talents in the world, shame on all of us, the world wasn’t in a place to embrace that,” said Wasserman, who also heads a sports marketing and management company representing several WNBA players. “Take Diana [Taurasi] or Breanna Stewart, or some of our clients who are going to be on the team. They are dominant at a level that’s never been seen before but the world wasn’t ready to fill a building like Caitlin Clark did for whatever, the Final Four.

“Now you have both those things and so that’s a powerful opportunity and I just think it would have been an opportunity to elevate the women’s team.”

The Fever, currently seventh in the Eastern Conference, resume play Aug. 16, against the Phoenix Mercury.

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