Getty WNBA star Caitlin Clark
It has not been an easy rookie year for No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark, whose induction into the WNBA has seen her face criticism over everything from race and gender to commercial travel to whether or not she shoots too much, or not enough. All the while, her team, the Indiana Fever, has struggled to overcome a 1-8 start to the year, though they’ve played better lately and sit at 7-12.
Still, the Fever lost their second straight game on Thursday night, falling to the Seattle Storm on the third leg of a massive five-game road trip that has already seen them rack up a win in Atlanta and a heartbreaking one-point loss in Chicago that saw them blow a 12-point fourth-quarter lead.
After the loss to the Storm, Clark met with the media alongside fellow Fever star Aliyah Boston and, well, Clark got a little tired of the steady stream of questions thrown her way.
Clark took the first four questions, but as a reporter began asking a fifth, she put up her hand. “Ask Aliyah a question,” she said.
The reporter continued, but Clark insisted: “No, ask Aliyah a question.”
WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston Has Struggled
Boston did, finally, get a question, as well she should have. She led the team with 14 rebounds, but struggled with her shooting on the night, going 5-for-16, and added four of the Fever’s 20 turnovers. Clark also struggled with turnovers, committing six in all.
Boston, it could be argued, is actually the Fever’s most important player—certainly the most important after Clark. She was the WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2023, and the pairing with Clark was supposed to give the Fever an exciting inside-out duo.
Instead, Boston has backtracked from her rookie numbers, dropping from 14.5 points per game to 12.9. Her rebounding (8.3) and blocked shots (1.3) have been steady, but her real problem has been efficiency as a scorer—her shooting percentage has dropped from 57.8% last year to 48.3% this year.
Boston’s efficiency is a pretty good barometer for the Fever. When she shoots 57% or better, the Fever are 5-2.
She addressed the turnover problems against Seattle: “We know they’re an aggressive team but I think some of the turnovers came of our own doing. … Just being able to take one more step on honestly reading what the defense is giving to me. A couple times, I tried to go high-low and I probably should have just kicked it out to the strong side corner because they were sitting there a little bit.”
Caitlin Clark: ‘I Am 19 Games In’
Clark, for her part, was a bit frustrated in the press conference even before she handed talking duties over to Boston. She was asked about what she thought her legacy would be, which is a fairly big question to ask a rookie right after a 12-point loss in the middle of a long WNBA road trip.
“Holy smokes,” Clark said. “I don’t know, I am 19 games in. I think just continue to learn, and continue to have fun playing this game. And obviously look to improve, continue to build every day.”
Clark did address the question of when she should shoot and when she should pass. She took only nine shots on Friday, but that was because the Storm was coming after her with consistent double-teams off of screens.
“I think especially for us, we played off a lot of ball screens tonight, so I think like, when you are getting doubled on a ball screen, you’re always going to give it up because it should create an advantage for us, 4-on-3, attacking the basket,” Clark said.
“I don’t think we played too well out of our ball screens tonight but, you know, I could definitely be a little more aggressive to the basket but I just try to take what the defense gives me and try to set my teammates up for success, too.”