𝐂𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐤

Abhay Pancharathi

The greatest collegiate women's basketball player of all time, Caitlin Clark was able to do what an entire generation of women's basketball stars before her were unable to do - attract attention to the WNBA. It wasn't just the logo shots, the unexpected dimes, or the riveting rivalry with fellow WCBB star Angel Reese, it was the quotable post-game pressers, the celebrations, and overall the electricity she brought to the court. This is not to discredit her as a player; the all-time leader in WCBB points was the best player on every court she stepped on, and she proved it her senior year averaging a jaw-dropping 32/9/7 on fantastic shooting efficiency. When the Indiana Fever won the right to draft Clark, the Fever (rightly) hailed her as their savior. After some early growing pains, Clark is averaging 22 points and 12 assists since July on 45% from the field. This is a far cry from her May and June averages which told the story of a player still adapting to the pace of the WNBA. But what exactly has Clark done to adapt? How did she go from a tight Rookie of the Year race with Reese to a potential MVP candidate in just 2 months?

It starts with Clark getting used to the athletic step-up in the WNBA. In the March 18th matchup vs the Liberty, Clark attempted passes within an opponent's wingspan, hoping they wouldn't react. This may have worked against Big10 players but will not work against WNBA professionals.

In the first clip, Clark tries to sneak a pass by the Library's Courtney Vandersloot, across her left foot, but Vandersloot reacts far faster than any opponent Iowa would have played and comes up with the easy steal. Just a couple of plays later, Clark tries to lob a pass over Breanna Stewart, and it too gets picked off. Again it's in her opponent's wingspan, and again they react quicker than Clark expected. Compare that to her August 16th matchup against the Mercury when Clark showed expertise in passing the ball away from her opponents. She often spun the ball, putting it in only a place her teammate could get it.

These types of high-level reads are what made Clark such an intriguing prospect anyway. Yes, she can shoot from 30, and yes she's lightning quick, but being able to put her teammates in advantageous situations is her most valuable skill. As she trusts her teammates more, and her teammates learn to anticipate her passes better, Clark will quickly become the best passer in the W.

However, a big factor in Clark's improvement does not have to do with her at all. Instead, it concerns her teammates being able to anticipate better the passes she throws. In that March 18th game, there were 2 instances where Clark did her job perfectly, getting her teammate to scoring position, yet these passes were dropped due to a lack of continuity. Similar to Magic Johnson or Luka Doncic, Clark's teammates needed practices to adapt to the knowledge that they were open even when they didn't know they were. This resulted in a massive uptick in assists for CC.

Since the All-Star break, Clark is averaging a blistering 24.5, 9, and 6 on elite efficiency. Part of this is the emergence of Kelsey Mitchell, averaging 25 points on an obscene 51/45/92 splits, but a bigger part of this is Coach Christie Sides's usage of CC in the offense. CC has played far more off-ball, opening the offense and getting her more catch-and-shoot opportunities. This has also resulted in so many open shots for Kelsey Mitchell, CC's off-ball "gravity" pulling defenders away from her.

The Fever have a winning record for the first time since 2016, and Caitlin Clark is the catalyst for why. Whether or not the ball is in her hands, she affects all aspects of the game, able to get players open shots with and without the rock. As advertised out of college, the future Rookie of the Year is a brilliant distributor who is also a scintillating iso player. The future for the Fever looks bright, with a dynamic backcourt of Clark and Mitchell and Aaliyah Boston able to score in the paint. Teams are afraid of the Fever, again.