There was a huge uproar in the media when Caitlin Clark wasn’t picked for the Paris Olympics. Many believed that she deserved to be part of the Team USA squad headed for the Olympics as the most popular female player in the country. While Team USA managed to win gold without her, it seems like CC has also been making good use of her Olympic break.
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The Indiana Fever rookie played her first WNBA game yesterday after the break. Clark was so impressive that it made Kevin Garnett speculate about things she must have done during the break, which has enabled her to take the Fever one step closer to a playoff position. The NBA veteran shared his thoughts on X.
He wrote, “What if @CaitlinClark’s Olympic break was the off season adjustment for the league that @wnba rookies don’t get before their 1st season… shyt looked crazy out there yesterday.”
KG pointed out that the Olympic break must’ve been a blessing for the rookie as they usually don’t have this much free time in the middle of the season. He stated that there’s a stark difference between the player she was before the break (which was already impressive) from the one he saw yesterday against the Phoenix Mercury.
Looking at the positive adjustments that Clark has made to her game, KG claimed that he can tell the Fever star spent some time in the film room.
Peep the diff… same shyt from first half, except better pace, command, and feet… 🚀😤 pic.twitter.com/3V0LNx94n6
— Kevin Garnett (@KevinGarnett5KG) August 17, 2024
To further strengthen his claim, he posted a two-minute-long clip of Clark’s highlights from the game. He wrote, “Peep the diff… same shyt from first half, except better pace, command, and feet.”
The impact of the changes that KG talked about could be seen in Clark’s performance in the nine-point win for the Fever.
Clark shines in the first post-Olympics game for Indiana
In their 98-89 win, the Fever started off with a dominant scoring spree. By the end of the first quarter, they were up by 17 points and the Mercury failed to catch up to that lead by the time the final buzzer went off. Four of the starting five players did the heavy lifting for the scoreboard, with Caitlin dropping 29 points.
She also had five rebounds and 10 assists in her 36 minutes of playing time. The Fever rookie shot 8 of 16 from the field, 4 of 11 from the three-point range and made 9 of 10 free throws. Apart from Caitlin, Kelsey Mitchell scored 28 points and Aliyah Boston had 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
If we compare Clark’s numbers from the last game to her average in the season so far, KG’s claims don’t seem very far-fetched. She is averaging 17.6 points per game while shooting 40.9% from the field. Both these factors were elevated in her last performance against the Mercury.
