Caitlin Clark has 'more motivation' after being left off USA Olympic roster
Caitlin Clark took the high road after not being selected for USA's Olympic Team roster despite having a successful year and helping women's basketball take massive leaps. Plus, team bonding.
On Friday night, on the bus in Washington DC to play the Mystics, Caitlin Clark received a phone call from USA Basketball informing her that she did not make the elusive 12-member roster for the Paris Olympics.
And as Clark continues to do, she hit all the right notes in sharing her reaction to the news that then leaked out around midnight on a Friday.
"I'm excited for the girls that are on the team,” Clark said on Sunday after Indiana Fever practice at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. “I know it's the most competitive team in the world, and I know it could have gone either way, me being on the team, me not being on the team. So I'm excited for them. I'm going to be rooting them on to win gold. I was a kid that grew up watching the Olympics, so, yeah, it'll be fun to watch them.
USA Basketball still has not announced the official roster, something that should have been done. Instead, it was came out from reporting and now Clark, along with her team, is left answering questions about it.
“They called me and let me know before everything came out, which was really respectful of them and I appreciated that,” she said.
After getting the call on the bus, Clark then texted head coach Christie Sides to let her know.
“A little disappointed, of course,” Sides said. “She's my player. That's the hardest team in the world to make, right? Like, that is a tough team. She's young, she's going to have so many opportunities in the future.
“I just tried to keep her spirits. The thing she said was, ‘Hey coach, they woke a monster,’ which I thought was awesome.”
After the news got out, the online discourse rose to another level of toxicity — both for and against her — and yet the 22-year-old not only stayed above it, but also gave classy responses despite being such a fierce competitor.
“Honestly, no disappointment,” said Clark. “I think it just gives you something to work for. That's a dream. Hopefully one day I can be there. I think it's just a little more motivation. You remember that and hopefully in four years … I can be there.”
She will absolutely be there then, but it is a surprise that Clark has been left off given her play on the court — and especially for what she’s done to help grow the game.
First in college, and now in the WNBA.
The league had its most-viewed draft ever with 2.45 million viewers (compared to 572,000 last year). They also sold tickets to it for the first time since 2016 and they sold out in about 15 minutes.
Five TV networks have already posted their most-viewed WNBA game of all-time — and all included Clark & the Fever.
The league’s season opener at Connecticut was the Sun’s first sellout (8,910) since their first-ever game in 2003.
The Los Angeles Sparks’ home game against the Fever set a franchise record for attendance (19,103).
And then on Friday in Washington DC, a game between the 0-10 Mystics and 2-9 Fever garnered the highest attendance (20,333) in 25 years.
Clark was unable to take part in training camp last April in Cleveland because she was still playing, helping the University of Iowa reach the national title game for the second year in a row. She’s been left off USA Basketball rosters before.
She could, however, be added to the roster as an injury replacement.