The Indiana Fever 's ace guard, Caitlin Clark , has been going 100 miles per hour for nearly a year. And now, with the WNBA taking a break due to numerous players playing for Team USA in the Paris Olympics women's basketball tournament, the sensational rookie says she's looking forward to taking a breather and not touching a basketball for a while.
The sharpshooting playmaker has been a whirlwind of talent, lifting women's basketball to the forefront of sports in recent months. Her jaw-dropping, record-shattering on-court performances and humble demeanor off the floor have quickly made her a fan favorite and a role model for young girls. Yet, despite her superhuman feats, the 22-year-old is only human, feeling the pressure and exhaustion of being in the relentless spotlight.
A much-needed break
From the moment Caitlin kicked off her senior season at Iowa by playing in an exhibition game versus DePaul at the Crossover at Kinnick, which drew a record-breaking crowd of 55,646, the native of Des Moines, Iowa, has not stopped hooping.
After a grueling NCAA season that saw her play before mammoth crowds and break nearly every scoring record in Division 1 basketball, she soon declared for the WNBA and was drafted by the Fever. A few weeks after playing in the NCAA national championship game and losing to South Carolina, she was already in training camp, preparing to transition to the pros.
With the sporting world eager to see how she would do in the WNBA, the Fever's opening schedule did not favor Caitlin, as they played 11 games in 20 days, slumping to a 2-9 mark. Since then, Clark and the Fever have regained their bearings, winning nine of their 15 games to move to 11-15 for the season, good for seventh in the race for the playoffs.
"I honestly can't wait to not touch a basketball for a while. I've shot too many times in the past year," Caitlin said after the WNBA All-Star Game, where she tallied four points and ten assists.
As superhuman as Caitlin may, at times, look with her resiliency and composure, she gave a brief reminder of how human she is.
"I think it's hard as a professional athlete at times like people do always realize I feel like an individual just like all of you," Clark reiterated. "I'm just the same human. I go about my same daily life, I do all the things that you do, I just play basketball on top of that."
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Allow her team to decompress
There was plenty of controversy over Caitlin's non-inclusion in Team USA. The furor worsened when the crafty playmaker tallied a new WNBA record of 19 assists last week. However, the silver lining to that snub is that Clark gets some much-needed rest.
"I'm loving that she's going to get a breather and get some rest, just for our push after this Olympic break. I think it's great for her; she's just been going so hard for quite some time now, and this is just going to help her so much just to kind of decompress," Fever coach Christine Sides remarked.
With the Fever striving to maintain their playoff spot, this three-week break will be a game-changer for Caitlin. With a target on her back in every game, Clark has been carrying a heavy load for her team, averaging 17.1 points and 8.2 assists per game.
A few weeks of not constantly carrying the team on her shoulders could significantly boost her energy and performance, giving hope for an even stronger Caitlin in the future.
Related: "You know how many people are happy right now?" - Angel Reese on what she told Caitlin Clark after their viral All-Star Game bucket
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