Reality arrives.
In the words of Diana Taurasi, spoken to Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter, Caitlin Clark will be held accountable when she gets to the WNBA. After four years of dominating college football, Clark begins the next chapter of her career at the bottom of the ladder as one of the youngest players in the most talented league in the world. Whatever the overall arc of Clark’s career, it’s unlikely she’ll be the best player on the court every night like she did at Iowa.
Diana Taurasi on Caitlin Clark joining the WNBA “Reality sets in… you look superhuman playing against 18 year olds but you’re going to come play with grown women who have been playing professional basketball for a long time” pic.twitter.com/fxBxGoRZCS
– Gifdsports (@gifdsports) April 6, 2024
Hype won’t be a problem for Clark; she is used to feeling pressure and seizing the moment. She was a top-five recruit coming out of high school and ended up becoming the leading scorer in college basketball history. She proclaimed her goal as a freshman to return Iowa to the Final Four for the first time since 1993, and she did it — twice. As the public’s eyes turned to her during each successive game of the Hawkeyes’ 2024 NCAA Tournament, Clark continued to win, breaking viewership records in the process.
She has already been the center of attention. The only difference now, with Clark primed to be the Indiana Fever’s No. 1 pick, is that the players she plays against will be able to do something about it.
“It’s a different game, there’s an adaptation period, there’s a grace period that you have to give to rookies when they come into the league,” Taurasi said during the team’s training camp. USA Basketball in Cleveland. “We’ve had some of the greatest basketball players of all time, and it takes two or three years to get used to a different game (against) the best players in the world.”
The biggest change Clark will encounter in the WNBA is the physicality and strength of her opposition. We saw Clark struggle against West Virginia’s aggressive ball pressure in the NCAA Tournament, resulting in him posting his worst assist ratio (3-6) of the season. UConn’s Nika Mühl put her in a straitjacket in the Final Four, picking Clark up all over the court and limiting Clark to her lowest scoring total (21 points) of 2023-24. And South Carolina’s trees made it difficult for Clark to finish inside, as she missed 10 2-point shots.
Nika Muhl follows Caitlin Clark everywhere she goes pic.twitter.com/aur7s8INm7
-Alex 👋 (@Dubs408) April 6, 2024
This is the type of defense Clark can expect to encounter every night in the WNBA, starting with Gamecocks alums Tiffany Mitchell and Tyasha Harris in Indiana’s opener against Connecticut. Additionally, while Clark was able to hide in the Hawkeyes’ defense, deferring the toughest matchups to Gabbie Marshall, too many offensive threats exist on every team in the pros. She will have opposing players trying to take her off the dribble and into her body on that side as well.
“In terms of challenge, I think the physical side of going against grown women is going to be tough,” Andraya Carter said on the pre-WNBA Zoom call. “The hits are going to be a little harder. The controls will be harder. The defense will be more physical and the players will be faster.
The transition to the pros is often more difficult for top guard prospects. Of the nine rookies who ranked in the top 10 in WARP (wins above replacement player) since 2010, only Maya Moore was a perimeter player, according to ESPN.com. And Clark’s game doesn’t exactly resemble that of his childhood idol.
Former No. 1 picks Kelsey Plum and Sabrina Ionescu have each experienced serious growing pains in their rise to All-Star status. Plum did not average double figures until her fourth season, a somewhat shocking turn of events for the then-leading scorer in Division I women’s college history. Likewise, Ionescu did not made over 35 percent of his 3-point shots through his fourth season, despite converting 42.2 percent of those shots in college.
Still, Clark has a few advantages going for her over this pair. At 6 feet, she’s taller than Plum, which will immediately give her sharper shooting angles. Opponents may not be able to put their best defender on Clark right away with All-Star Kelsey Mitchell also in the Fever backcourt, and Clark has deeper range than Plum at this point, allowing him to stretch the defense.
Ionescu was hampered by a serious ankle sprain in her first two seasons, so health could be the biggest differentiator for Clark early in her career. But Ionescu’s difficulty playing as a primary ball handler is instructive: Although she is the all-time college leader in triple-doubles, she only thrived in the pros alongside another leader. Clark will play that one; as such, his passing will need to shine immediately. Fortunately, it’s perhaps the most professional skill in his toolbox.
“There will be challenges, but at the same time, the talent around her will also be better,” Rebecca Lobo said on the pre-call. “I’m excited to see what that looks like, especially on the offensive end of the court.”
Perhaps a more useful comparison for Clark is Rhyne Howard, the No. 1 pick in 2022. Howard was a high-volume 3-point shooter at Kentucky and was successful as a scorer as a freshman because she continued to distance throw, All-Star winner. honors in his first season. Howard didn’t do too much shot creation for others — she’s more of a wing than Clark — but used her size to take on smaller guard defenders, something her fellow No. 1 can replicate.
Clark’s vast repertoire of skills, whether it’s making catches, creating for others, or generating good looks for herself, makes it plausible that she could rely on any of them to make its mark immediately. She is in a better position to succeed than those who have come before her in recent years because her resume is one of a kind.
Even if reality hits right away, Clark still has a long way to go to figure out how to dominate at the next level. She is set up for success by a franchise that will prioritize her development and optimize her basketball situation. Sooner or later, everyone agrees that Clark’s play will translate, even Taurasi.
“When you’re great at what you do,” Taurasi said, “you’re just going to get better.”
(Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)