Caitlin Clark may be going through an adjustment period to the WNBA, but she appears to be figuring out the learning curve pretty quickly — and already doing something unprecedented.
In Sunday’s game against the Chicago Sky, Clark had an all-around great performance, recording 23 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
This marks Clark’s first career tally of 200+ points, 75+ rebounds and 75+ assists, making her the fastest player in WNBA history to reach this milestone in just 15 games.
This season, Caitlin Clark is averaging 16.1 points, 6.2 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
She’s also been subject to constant criticism and scrutiny, which will no doubt make her transition to the WNBA more difficult, but to some extent, that scrutiny is likely beneficial for the sport.
In particular, Clark’s growing rivalry with former LSU star Angel Reese of the Sky seems like a perfect fit for the WNBA.
In Sunday’s game, Reese committed a flagrant foul on Clark that was deemed a Flagrant 1. After the game, Reese appeared to thoughtlessly criticize Caitlin Clark and the type of call she received from the referees.
“I thought we played really hard inside, we went strong a lot of times and we just didn’t get a lot of calls,” Reese said. “Looking back at the film, there were a lot of things that didn’t get called. I think some guys got some special whistles.”
“I’m still proud of Camila. [Cardoso] “We’re going to go out there and get a double-double. No matter what the officiating is, you’re not going to stop us from doing that. We’re here for a while. No matter what you do, we’re not going to lose. But our goal is to win, and we’re going to do whatever it takes to win.”
Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark grow their game
Both Clark and Reese have built their own fanbases, and the WNBA has consistently broken viewership records since their arrivals.
Rees has a decidedly different style than Clark, but he’s not going to apologize for the way he conducts himself, especially if it benefits the sport.
“People come to the game,” Reese said earlier this month, “just for one game, celebrities come to the game, arenas are sold out. Look at that. I take on that role. I take on the role of the bad guy. And I continue to take on that role and continue to be the bad guy to my teammates.”
“If that’s what I want, I’ll go down in history. I’ll look back in 20 years and realize the reason we’re watching women’s basketball isn’t just because of one person, it’s because of me. And I want people to understand that.”
