Reality is coming.
According to Diana Taurasi, as she spoke to Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter, Caitlin Clark has some reckoning to make when she gets to the WNBA. After four years of dominating the college game, Clark begins the next chapter of her career on the floor as one of the youngest players in the most talented league in the world. Regardless of what the overall arc of Clark’s career will be, it’s unlikely she’ll hit the ground running as the best player on the court every night like she did at Iowa.
Diana Taurasi on Caitlin Clark Coming to the WNBA “Reality is setting in…you look superhuman playing against some 18-year-olds, but you’re going to come play with some grown women who have been playing professional basketball for a long time.” pic.twitter.com/fxBxGoRZCS
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) April 6, 2024
The hype won’t be an issue for Clarke. he’s used to feeling pressure and meeting the moment. He was a top five tight end out of high school and ended up as the leading scorer in college basketball history. She declared her goal as a freshman to return to Iowa in the Final Four for the first time since 1993, and she did — twice. As the audience’s eyes lasered her way through each successive game of the Hawkeyes’ 2024 NCAA Tournament, Clark kept winning, breaking viewership records in the process.
He has been the center of attention in the past. The only difference now, with Clark poised to be the Indiana Fever’s No. 1 pick, is that the players who suit up will be able to do something about it.
“It’s a different game, there’s an adjustment period, there’s a grace period you have to give rookies when they get to the league,” Taurasi said at USA Basketball’s training camp in Cleveland. “We had some of the greats that ever played basketball and it takes two or three years to get used to a different game (against) the best players in the world.”
The most significant change Clark will face in the WNBA is the physicality and strength of her opposition. We saw Clark struggle with West Virginia’s offensive ball pressure in the NCAA Tournament, resulting in her worst assist-to-turnover ratio (3-to-6) of the season. UConn’s Nika Mühl had her clothed during the Final Four, picking off Clark all over the court and holding Clark to her lowest scoring total (21 points) of the 2023-24 season. And the South Carolina trees made it a challenge for Clark to finish inside, as she missed 10 two-pointers.
Nika Muhl shadows Caitlin Clark wherever she goes pic.twitter.com/aur7s8INm7
— Alex 👋 (@Dubs408) April 6, 2024
That’s 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 had to hide in the Hawkeyes’ defense, deferring the toughest matchups to Gabbie Marshall, there are plenty of offensive threats on every team in the pros. She will have opposing players trying to take her off the dribble and get into her body on that end as well.
“As far as the challenge, I think the physicality of going against the grown women is going to be tough,” Andraya Carter said on the WNBA’s pre-draft Zoom call. “Hitting will be a little more difficult. Controls will be more difficult. The defense will be more natural and the players will be faster.”
The jump to the pros is often more difficult for top guards. Of the nine rookies who have ranked in the top 10 in WARP (wins above replacement player) since 2010, only Maya Moore has been a perimeter player, according to ESPN.com. And Clark’s game isn’t quite like her childhood idol’s.
Former No. 1 picks Kelsey Plum and Sabrina Ionescu faced serious growing pains during their rise to All-Star status. Plum didn’t average in double figures until her fourth season, a somewhat shocking turn of events for the then-leading scorer in Division I women’s college history. Similarly, Ionescu didn’t make more than 35 percent of her 3-pointers until in her fourth season despite making 42.2 percent of those appearances in college.
Still, Clark has some advantages over her relative in this pair. At 6 feet, she’s taller than Plum, which should give her cleaner shooting angles right away. Opponents may not be able to put their best defender on Clark right away with All-Star Kelsey Mitchell also in the Fever’s backcourt, and Clark has more range than Plum at this stage, allowing her to stretch the defense .
Ionescu was bothered by a severe ankle sprain during her first two seasons, so health could be the biggest differentiator for Clark early in her career. But Ionescu’s difficulty playing as a ball star is instructive — despite being the all-time college triple-double leader, she only blossomed in the pros alongside another point guard. Clark will play at one. Therefore, her death should shine immediately. Fortunately, this may be the most readily available skill in her toolbox.
“There will be challenges, but at the same time the talent around her will also be better,” Rebecca Lobo said on the pre-draft call. “I’m excited to see what that looks like specifically on the offensive end of the floor.”
Perhaps a more useful comparison for Clark is Ryan Howard, the No. 1 pick in 2022. Howard was a high-volume 3-point shooter at Kentucky and thrived as a scorer as a rookie because he continued to shoot from distance, earning All-Star honors in first of the season. Howard didn’t create many shots for others — she’s more of a wing than Clark — but she used her size to handle smaller defensive guards, something her No. 1 pick can repeat.
Clarke’s deep repertoire of skills, whether it’s overcoming good, creating for others, or creating good looks for herself, makes it plausible that she’ll be able to rely on one of them to make an immediate impact. She is in a better position to succeed than those who came before her in recent years because her resume is in a class of its own.
Even if reality hits right away, there’s a long way to go for Clark to figure out how to dominate at the next level. He is being set up for success by a franchise that will prioritize his development and optimize his basketball situation. Sooner or later, everyone agrees that Clark’s game 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)
