Caitlin Clark Gets a Reality Check in WNBA Debut as Dominating Iowa Days End: “Not Really Anybody You Can Relax Off Of”

Transition can be challenging between college and professional leagues. Especially when the playing style and rules change. Something similar is happening with the Indiana Fever’s golden rookie Caitlin Clark as she tries to find her way through the WNBA. The NCAA’s all-time leading scorer who grew comfortable in her skin as an offensively dominating force on the floor for Iowa, got hit with the reality of professional basketball. Despite her impressive output, what aspect of the WNBA got to Clark in tonight’s game against the Wings?

During her post-game interview, Caitlin Clark got to face the truth that tonight was quite similar to her NCAA championship game. The 2x James E. Sullivan Awardee was also quick to notice the difference in the playing style between college BB and the WNBA stage. She said, “I think the biggest transition is the physicality. Everybody’s super physical. It doesn’t always get called.” Despite the loss, Sue Bird’s ‘Togethxr’ posted Caitlin Clark’s debut performance on their Instagram account, saying, “@caitlinclark22 has arrived @wnba.”

Clark added, “I think one through five or every single person on every roster that we’re going to play is so so talented. The talent level is obviously very different than in college, so getting used to that. No matter who subs into the game, it’s not really anybody you can relax off of ’cause that’s how competitive this league is. People are just too good for that.”

Clark was also quite happy with her performance as she completed her goal of enjoying the game and being herself. This was just a pregame and hence, everyone is simply expected to get comfortable. However, she will soon have another go at luck within a week.

Will the lady luck side with Caitlin Clark vs. Atlanta?

The dreamers in Atlanta have been making huge leaps in their rankings. The team that has been struggling for a while now finished last season as the 5th overall seed. When talking about the roster, the Dream has not really changed this year. Statistically, the numbers for the two teams mirrored as well. However, when we look at Fever’s roster this year, they have added NCAA’s scoring and assist queen. In her debut game, she scored 21 points. Although this is exactly 10 points less than her NCAA average, the difficulty level of the game has also increased tenfold.

When looking into the injury reports, all the team leaders are healthy for the game. However, they have 3 players who are completely out and 2 bench players at the GTD status. For the Fever, while Caitlin Clark has replaced the leading scorer of the team Kelsey Mitchell, her contribution of 18.2 points per game could do wonders right now. But Erica Wheeler and NaLyssa Smith are also performing incredibly at the moment.

Only time will tell if Clark could help the Fever stand out against a team that is continuously improving its roots in the league.