Caitlin Clark eager for return to game action after long road back
The Indiana Fever star says she’s in a great place physically and mentally and expects some nerves as she returns to game action Wednesday with USA Basketball.
Caitlin Clark is back on the basketball court and preparing for game action. Those are words she — and her fans — have been waiting to hear for a long time.
It’s been since July 15, in the final seconds of a win over the Connecticut Sun — in an NBA venue, TD Garden in Boston — since Clark last played in a game. It’s been a grueling stretch for the WNBA’s young star. Because of a handful of soft-tissue injuries, Clark was limited to just 13 WNBA games in her sophomore season.
But that changes this week.
For the first time in nearly eight months, fans will be able to see Clark back on the court. It’s her happy place — a place to enjoy competition and put on a show for viewers. This time it will be with the United States Senior National Team as Clark (and several others) makes her debut. She’s been part of the USA Basketball system since U16, but she was left off the 2024 Olympic team.
“I feel good. I feel really healthy,” Clark said on Saturday.
Clark and the 11 other members of the team — which will compete in five World Cup qualifying games held in San Juan, Puerto Rico — arrived in Miami on Friday for team training camp over the weekend.
The roster: Caitlin Clark, Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Dearica Hamby, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Kiki Iriafen, Paige Bueckers, Rhyne Howard, Angel Reese, Monique Billings, and Rae Burrell.
Her Fever teammate, Aliyah Boston, is no longer participating after suffering a right-leg injury during the final week of action at Unrivaled. She’s back in Indianapolis for evaluation.
Breanna Stewart, fresh off a championship at Unrivaled, will not play in the World Cup qualifier but is in Miami for training camp.
WNBA legend Sue Bird was named the first-ever Managing Director for the U.S. Women’s National Team and plays the lead role in selecting the roster.
“I keep joking, I’ve been doing this for like 20 years on napkins,” said Bird. “So it was nice actually to have a real roster.”
The Work
The last eight months have presented Clark with the biggest test of her young career. She loves the game and everything that comes with it, including practice. Yes, she missed the little things on the court and being part of the group. So she had to dig deep, remain relentless, listen to her body and then push further — while also knowing when to take it easy.
There’s also uncertainty around the WNBA as the league continues negotiating a new Collective Bargaining Agreement with the WNBPA. So it’s been helpful for Clark to have two basketball checkpoints to prepare for — first, a USA camp at Duke in December, and now the World Cup qualifier.
“I love skill development, working on my game and this and that,” Clark said. “And there’s obviously a ton of that, but you need to just go out there and play.”
With Team USA, the group is training at the Miami Heat practice facility. But Clark has spent most of the offseason in Indianapolis, using the Fever and Pacers practice courts.
Watch her full media availability from Saturday in the media player below:
Clark, 24, works with the medical staff in the training room and then with player development coaches on the court. The Fever made two hires in the offseason: Cory Price as senior director of player health and performance and Rob Dosier as a second development coach — an important addition as Keith Porter recovers from a torn Achilles.
Shooting and skill development are always a priority, but Clark has also worked closely with coaches on simulating live play. Game speed, skilled defense, athleticism and physicality are all emphasized as Clark plays 5-on-5 against a group of former overseas pros brought in to compete.
The best way for Clark to feel normal again is through 5-on-5 competition. She’s one of the biggest competitors there is — whether it’s basketball, a card game or putt-putt.
Clark wants to win at everything.
“I’m really thankful for the Fever medical staff, player development (coaches) and a lot of other people that have helped me behind the scenes to be able to get back to this,” she said. “It wasn’t just me, there’s a lot of people that are very, very selfless and helping me do this so I’m just thankful for them.”
The Mindset
Basketball was taken from Clark for most of the last year. Again, she appeared in only 13 games with the Fever — and even in some of those, she wasn’t fully healthy. She suffered an injury during the first week of training camp.
“Probably the part that kind of stunk about it is I felt like I put in so much time and so much energy going into last season,” she said, “and then obviously I only appeared in about 13 games and some of those, I probably wasn’t as healthy as I probably should have been.”
The stretch became as much a mental grind as a physical one. Clark is a hard worker and willing to do whatever it takes to get back on the court, but her body kept telling her no. Now she’s coming off the longest stretch of her life without playing basketball games.
“It was these nagging injuries that continued to build up and build up — and dealt with one on top of the other,” she continued. “I think that probably almost played with my mind even more. Knowing I was going to be out for a set period of time, I was always trying to come back, always trying to come back, and then I’d get hurt in another way and then finally, obviously, shutting it down.”
Clark leaned on a strong support system — from the Fever to Iowa and others in her circle — during the unusually difficult period.
“When you’ve dealt with so many little soft tissue injuries, you can get in your head a little bit,” Clark acknowledged. “I think, at least past couple months, I’ve really put that behind me and really just feel confident in what I’ve been able to build and where my body’s at. And more than anything, where my game’s at. I know I’ve put in as much time as I can truly can.”
Very soon, fans will get to see The Needle on the court. There’s a reason TNT Sports negotiated a deal with FIBA to televise every USA game. By comparison, the recent men’s qualifying games were available only on the streaming platform Courtside 1891.
Bird and USA coach Kara Lawson want Clark and the rest of the roster to be themselves. It’s a talented group, and they were selected for a reason. However, it would’ve been easier if Clark has Boston along with her.
“I’ve had a good six months,” Clark retired. “I think the first USA basketball camp was a great checkpoint for me and I felt really great. Honestly, I was impressed with like how I felt like it maybe would take me a day or two to really get my first step back. But I felt like myself out there so just relying on that and just remind myself who I am and what I’ve been and I didn’t lose that. So just continue to do that.”
Clark’s first action with the World Cup team will come Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET against Senegal. The game will air on TruTV and HBO Max.
When that moment arrives and Clark proudly pulls on the Team USA jersey, she expects something unusual — nerves.
That typically doesn’t happen.
She does the work, trusts the work and plays free.
But this moment feels different.
“… I usually don’t get nervous,” Clark said, “but that probably just will come from (how) I haven’t really played basketball in a while so I’m sure after the first minute of running around on the court, I’ll be just fine.
“I feel like I’m even better than where I was at the beginning of last season and I started off the season really well before I was hurt and tried to play through being hurt.”
USA World Cup Qualifiers Schedule
March 11 vs. Senegal, 5 p.m. ET | TruTV, HBO Max
March 12 vs. Puerto Rico, 8 p.m. ET | TruTV, HBO Max
March 14 vs. Italy, 5 p.m. ET | TruTV, HBO Max
March 15 vs. New Zealand, 2 p.m. ET | TruTV, HBO Max
March 17 vs. Spain, 5 p.m. ET | TruTV, HBO Max
Many of us are starved for anything about Caitlin. It is good to finally have something from her, and some games coming up. Not many, probably not competitive, and who knows how much CC will be playing. But with the W season still in limbo, I am grateful for this. It may be all we get for a long while. Good wishes and prayers for Boston, also.