Of being a senior in college and a star Iowa women's basketball team That she went to the national championship, then got drafted right after that and jumped into a WNBA season, a lot has happened in her life Caitlin Clark Last year.
The Indiana Fever star was left off the Olympic women's basketball roster last summer, a decision that sparked much controversy, but Clark said the break during the WNBA season due to the 2024 Paris Games was necessary.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Caitlin Clark (AP Photo/Adam Hanger/File)
“We had an Olympic break, so I took a month off in the middle of the season because we had to pause the WNBA season because, you know, the 12 girls go and play in the Olympics. And everybody, you're not,” Clark said during a recent appearance on the show. “I do a lot, so I took about a month off, which I really needed, because I had only been playing basketball one year in a row.”New heights.“
Fever He started 1-8 but rallied to finish 20-20 to qualify for the playoffs. The main reason for the Fever's late-season surge was Clarke's improved play after the break.
Before the Olympic break, she was averaging 17.1 points per game. After the break, she looked rejuvenated, averaging 23.1 points per game.
Jason asked Kelsey how Clark could define the whirlwind of her year in just two words.
Kaitlin Clark says she first started receiving college recruitment letters in seventh grade
Caitlin Clark of Indiana Fever poses for a photo with Lin Dunn and Christy Sides during her introductory news conference on April 17, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
“I would say, I don't know, maybe life-changing? All in a good way, like, I mean things change so quickly, you guys know. That's just the way the world works, and especially with social media, people see a lot of… “Your life, but that's what makes it fun and why I've had a lot of great opportunities as well, so, it's crazy, like looking back on last year on this day or around this time, like, I was at the beginning of my senior year in college,” Clark said. He said.
“And obviously, you know, people know who we are, people have attended our games, but obviously it's not as big as it is now. So, like life changes quickly, but that's what makes it fun and great and, you know, I quickly started a chapter Also new to my life, like moving here to Indianapolis, and I feel lucky to still be in the Midwest because I know you (Jason and Travis Kelce) Like the Midwest.”
Clark said she's looking forward to being able to get more into the routine in her second season with the Fever after quickly moving on from College basketball In the WNBA.
How Caitlyn Clarke fought the culture wars on her way to a historic 2024
Lisa Bluder and Caitlin Clark talk during practice for the NCAA women's college basketball championship game between Iowa and South Carolina on April 6, 2024. (Zach Boyden Holmes/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagen Images)
“Yes, absolutely, I mean it's not like any other professional sport, really, from a standpoint, so I played in the national championship, and I basically went to the draft right after that, and I got picked, and then I basically packaged, like, 'You're going to move on,'” Clark said. In April, she didn't even finish her final year of college.
“And I think for you guys, what was it like, you go to the NFL, how long do you have to prepare for the combine, two months? And then you get drafted, and you still have a little bit of time to get acclimated to the new city, you have camp.” “Whatever it is, the camp for us takes a week and a half.”
But Clark also said there is benefit to things moving so quickly.
“I think it was pretty good too, where you didn't have time to think too much about things, and it was like, boom, boom, boom, boom, like I was on to the next one. But at the same time, no, I feel like I never finished the semester in college, it was like I left, but maybe that's good you don't have a lot of time to think about it, so I think that's definitely the weirdest part of you. “I know that professional women's basketball,” Clark said. And college basketball is also just that “Change.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever speaks to the media during an introductory news conference on April 17, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
Although fast forward to WNBAClark still excelled.
She won the WNBA Rookie of the Year award, was named an All-Star and led the WNBA in assists while also setting a record for most assists in a single season with 337.
Clark set the rookie record for the most points scored in a single season with 769, and drained 122 3-pointers in her season, the second-most in a single season in WNBA history.
Follow Fox News Digital Sports coverage on X And subscribe to Fox News Sports Huddle Newsletter.
