Caitlin Clark Shares Honest Response on 'Pain' of WNBA Playoffs

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever were recently bounced from the WNBA playoffs, following a first round sweep to the Connecticut Sun.

After a historic rookie season, Clark conducted her exit interview with the Fever, sharing her thoughts one the playoff loss, while speaking on the future of organization.

Clark believes the Fever have to let the playoff loss "bother" them and it's important to "taste the pain."

She thinks Indiana can certainly be a championship caliber team and explained that she'll do everything in her power to allow the Fever to compete for a title.

"Let it kind of bother you in a that it’s gonna drive you through the offseason," Clark said. "How’s it gonna make you work? You got to taste the pain to be in the playoffs… We believe we can build this place into a championship contender. That’s what I believe. I’m going to do everything in my power to help this organization get there."

Indiana lost Game 2, 87-81 and Game 1, 93-69. Clark struggled in her playoff debut, but she was able to pick up the pace in the elimination game, giving the Fever a fighter's chance to extend the series and play Game 3 in Indiana.

The rookie produced 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds in Game 2. She was the only rookie in WNBA history to have notched those numbers in the playoffs since Maya Moore in 2011.

Clark bounced back from a poor performance in Game 1 where she recorded 11 points, eight assists and four rebounds. In her playoff debut, the rookie shot 23.5% from the field and 15.4% from three.

Despite mentioning that she has to "taste the pain," the rookie has plenty of accomplishments to celebrate from her rookie season.

She was able to lead the Fever back into the playoffs for the first time since 2016. They finished the tear with a 20-20 record and the No. 6 seed in the WNBA standings.

Throughout the regular season, Clark averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. She led the WNBA in average assists and led the rookie class in points and assists.

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Related: Caitlin Clark Makes WNBA History in Playoff Elimination Game