CHICAGO —Late in the fourth quarter on Friday, her night’s work complete, Caitlin Clark walked off the floor and asked the crowd to make some noise. Thousand roared in approval. No matter that it wasn’t a home game for the Indiana Fever; the Clark Show travels. And its latest stop was one of its most impressive yet, a 100-81 win over the Chicago Sky and a career-high for the main attraction.
Clark, who finished 31 points, four rebounds and 12 assists, put together her stunning performance in front of legends such as Shaquille O’Neal, in town to support Angel Reese, and Sue Bird, who was there in conjunction with the Barbie campaign.
Thousands of miles away, another all-time great was also watching.
“CAITLIN CLARK!!!!! HI HATERS,” LeBron James wrote on social media. In a reply to another post he called her “SO COLD,” before re-posting her highlights.
In addition to the best scoring night of her young career, Clark also posted the fifth 30-point, 10-assist game in league history, and her fifth outing of at least 20 points and 10 assists, the most such performances in a single season all-time. Fever coach Christie Sides was most impressed with her poise. Clark turned it over just three times.
“She did an excellent job late in the game when we didn’t have the advantage in transition she was pulling the ball out,” Sides said. “That’s just the growth. That’s things we weren’t doing earlier [in the season]. She’s recognizing those things, she’s making some play calls. We try to get her to understand what our advantages will be with certain play calls versus certain teams. She made some of those calls during the game, ended up with buckets a lot of times.”
If the Rookie of the Year race wasn’t already over, it is now. With Reese, her main competition for the award, on the other side, Clark was far and away the best player on the floor. She controlled the game with her playmaking, rained in 3-pointers and frustrated her defenders into multiple hard fouls, all with the exuberance of a player who now feels completely comfortable at this level.
Clark stresssed pre-game that she doesn’t care about winning the award, but rather “winning basketball games. It’s as simple as that.”
“You don’t wake up and think about individual awards,” Clark said. “I know that’s what all of you think we do. That’s what everybody wants to make this about. Both of our teams are competing for playoff spots. That’s our main focus. That’s a selfish thing to just care about an individual award, and [Reese] would give you the same exact answer.”
Of course, both is an option. Clark is going to earn the honor largely because she’s playing the game the right way. She’s leaned into being a playmaker and leads the league with 8.3 assists per game. The Fever’s offense is humming as a result. Since their 2-9 start, when they had to play 11 games in 20 days against an array of title contenders, they boast a league-best 107.2 offensive rating.
That, in turn, has led to wins. The Fever are 14-7 in that stretch, including 5-1 post-Olympic break, to claw their way back to .500. After Friday’s victory, Indiana (16-16) has overtaken the Phoenix Mercury (16-16) for sixth place, and are closer to fourth than they are to ninth. Soon, they’ll clinch their first playoff appearance since 2016, ending the longest active drought in the league.
For now, Clark said she’s “proud” of her group for keeping a “day-by-day” approach. That’s an old cliche, but it’s hard to argue with the results. Soon, the Fever will bring their extravaganza to an arena near you for a special playoff tour.
Clark, as always, will be front and center.
“Caitlin Clark just gives you energy, that’s just who she is,” Sides said. “She keeps it light, but she knows when to turn it on. She’s a competitor, just a fierce competitor.”
