Rested Caitlin Clark gears up for her second WNBA season

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark slapped the court with both hands and started gesturing in her side’s direction after forcing a 5-second call near the end of Tuesday’s practice.

It was only Day 2 of training camp, yet this is what Clark has yearned for these past seven months — going back to work with a new coach, a revamped roster and even higher expectations in her second WNBA season.

After leading the Fever to their first playoff berth in eight years, winning the league’s Rookie of the Year Award, being named Associated Press 2024 Female Athlete of the Year and Time magazine’s 2024 Athlete of the Year, Clark has returned to Indianapolis a stronger, wiser player, more determined to win the championship that eluded her in college.

“It was an adjustment sure, because I was so used to playing minutes for, well, basically a year of my life. That’s all I did,” Clark said. “So the rest was good. I thought it was going to feel long and it really didn’t. We were in here all the time. But that rest aspect, just getting my body where it needed to be and really on things I needed to work on was super important. But I’m ready to compete again.”

It was a well-deserved vacation for perhaps the busiest player in women’s basketball.

She capped her final college season by playing a 39-game schedule while leading Iowa to a second straight national championship game. One week after losing to South Carolina, the Fever drafted her No. 1 overall and 13 days after that, training camp opened.

Following a brief preseason, Clark made her regular-season debut May 10. That started a grueling 42-game grind during which the Fever overcame a 1-8 start to finish 20-20. Then they were swept out of the playoffs.

The only real stoppage for Clark during that 81-game, 10-month span was the monthlong Olympic break.

Clark turned sellouts at college and WNBA games into the norm as she found her every move scrutinized on social media. Fans complained she was being treated poorly by the league’s older players and some even argued the physical play was racially motivated. Her friendships and relationships became all the rage, and nothing seemed to be off limits.

But Clark never complained, never bowed to the pressure and used this seven-month break to focus on being herself. She completed one bucket list item — attending the final round of The Masters earlier this month — and had her college jersey retired. She attended a Taylor Swift concert, an NFL game with Swift and, of course, Pacers games.

Now, though, she sounds refreshed as she sings the praises of a veteran team full of title dreams and championship resumes from coach Stephanie White to teammates Natasha Howard and 37-year-old DeWanna Bonner.

Just the thought of an improved Clark this season could make opponents jittery.

Clark led the Fever in minutes (35.4 per game) and steals (1.3), shared team scoring honors with Kelsey Mitchell (19.2 points), and broke the WNBA’s single season mark for assists with 337.

Clark, meanwhile, is just focused on winning games.

The Fever will play at her alma mater and Notre Dame in the preseason, with the real tests set to begin with Indiana’s season opener May 17 at Chicago and her old rival, Angel Reese.



(AP Photo Michael Conroy)