All eyes were on the Fever as the Women鈥檚 National Basketball Association (WNBA) took a break for the Paris Games. On one hand, interest was generated following USA Basketball鈥檚 decision to leave out All-Star Caitlin Clark from the US roster; speculation ran rampant on how the celebrated rookie would use the veritable snub as motivation. On the other lay the silver lining; including her collegiate stint with the Hawkeyes, she had been playing continually for about a year, and the lull provided her with the opportunity to recharge.
As things turned out, conventional wisdom was right on both counts. Clark was too media-savvy to publicly acknowledge how much the chance to represent the old red, white, and blue meant to her, but her actions underscored her sentiments all the same. After a short vacation with teammates in Mexico, she buckled down to work 鈥 hard 鈥 as the Fever wisely used the time the compressed schedule couldn鈥檛 afford them at the start of their campaign to build the type of familiarity and camaraderie that makes winners.
If there was any doubt that Clark benefited from the interregnum, it was promptly erased in the Fever鈥檚 match against the Mercury over the weekend. Not coincidentally, the latter boasted of three Olympians. And, not coincidentally, she led the charge for the third straight time against the competition; her 29 and 10 raised her norms and inched her closer to breaking Hall of Famer Ticha Penicheiro鈥檚 rookie mark for assists, as well as keep her on pace to do the same with the league record 鈥 set last year by Alyssa Thomas 鈥 for dimes in a single season.
Most importantly for Clark, the Fever maintained their momentum; after an atrocious 1-8 slate off the blocks, they have gone a heady 11 and seven to set them up for their first playoff stint since living legend Tamika Catchings retired in 2016. She鈥檚 getting more comfortable by the minute, with the other stalwarts of the blue and gold 鈥 and, yes, head coach Christie Sides 鈥 finally letting her be, well, her. In short, she鈥檚 right where she wants to be: in control and pushing them to meet their date with fate.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
