Caitlin Clark is not attending the Paris Olympics, and it appeared as though she did n’t mind at all Saturday night at Footprint Center.
She’s been running at a frantic pace for a month, she said. First the typical college baseball season, then the NCAA Women’s Final Four, straight into the WNBA review, first half of the year and the WNBA All-Star Game. Every shift analyzed, every picture dissected. If she wants to take the Olympic split off, forgive her.
” See you in a month”, she said after the WNBA All-Stars took care of a U. S. Women’s Olympic group that did n’t find her in great style, 117-109. ” I’m going to do a few things for myself”.
She said she would not be making any announcements about the plans, but that some of the day will be spent working out in the gym with her Indiana Fever friends.

Any admiration for the athletes on the U.S. Olympic team that she, other quarterback Angel Reese, and sport MVP Arike Ogunbowale feel while Diana Taurasi and business travel to Paris to try to win their ninth gold medal in a row was overshadowed by their respect for the athletes.
” They have plenty of expertise on that team”, Clark said. ” If something, it shows how great this group is, how much expertise there is in this category. This was a great option to aid in their preparation. I’ll get rooting for them. I mean, I love the Olympics. Since I was a young child, I’ve loved the Olympics. They’re going to be just fine. They’re going to get golden and dominate”.
But there is n’t much time, and they have a lot of work to do, USA coach Cheryl Reeve acknowledged. By the end of the week, her team will have played one more exhibition match against Germany on Tuesday in London before moving on to swimming play for the Paris Olympics.
” We were n’t good at what we were trying to do”, Reeve said.
Reeve questioned her before the game if she had any second thoughts about certainly selecting Clark, saying,” From me. No”.
Clark dished out 10 help, a rookie history and one quiet of the All-Star record set by Sue Bird in 2017. Reese had 12 positions and 11 touchdowns to become the first quarterback to report a double-double in an All-Star Game. Ogunbowale set a WNBA All-Star history with 34 items, 21 alone during the fourth quarter.
Reeve acknowledged that everyone on the Olympic group had potential.
” We’ve said this for decades: The level of expertise we have in the USA, no one has anything nearer to it”, she said. There are exceptional athletes who are not on our staff. Anyone knows that. There is no evidence that the WNBA athletes are incompetent enough to play for this nation’s group. But just 12 can make it”.
There’s no problem the WNBA has reached a watershed moment. Clark has had a significant influence on both economic and artistic levels on television exposure and presence. She earned their respect after a brief period of coercion when the soldiers booged her and hazed her.
She’s 22 years old and it’s all upside for her and the club.

After 25 years of a 12-team structure, the WNBA is expanding to San Francisco future time, Toronto shortly after and to a 44-game plan from 40. WNBA director Cathy Engelbert promised 16 groups by 2028, during her preliminary press conference.
The Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia’s proposed$ 100 million self-financed practice facility north of the market put them on par with his NBA Suns at least facility-wise.
Saturday nights, as a selling crowd of 16 and 407 filled the venue to the ceiling, the atmosphere was electrical both inside and outside.
” Walking through WNBA Live as I did yesterday and today, the excitement was unlike anything we’ve seen at All-Star Weekend”, Engelbert said. ” We had a history 24 partners on finger to celebrate”.
The WNBA has ridden the Clark sensation to a new media rights agreement, as well as beyond their craziest thoughts in terms of marketing and merchandising. This is no more your grandmother’s WNBA.
Engelbert cited the highest overall WNBA participation in 26 years, 16 nationwide broadcast games, including 14 with Clark, that had attracted a million or more viewers. Using the WNBA app has increased by 53 %.
” And we’re not even half through the time”, she said. I was certain that we were prepared for significant issues when I first stood in front of you at this time next year. We were getting ready for a lot, but I’m so happy with what we’ve accomplished this time.
Of course, Clark, Reese and a fresh wave of WNBA people even came down.
” I’ve been so pleased with Caitlin and all of our rookie”, Engelbert said. ” So many of this freshman class, they’re so powerful, and they’re performing at the highest levels. You men are all about it in writing, which we adore. Yeah, I’m definitely pleased with how that’s working out”.
And why should n’t she be pleased? The Fever lead the group with an average presence of 16, 898, 15, 306 on the road through 15 activities. And as Engelbert said, they’re simply half through the year. It will be a mad rush to finish the next quarter and advance to the playoffs after the Olympics.
Clark has learned a lot from the first quarter.
She said,” I feel like it’s totally night and day for me from the beginning of the season until now.” ” I really feel so much more pleasant. Things are starting to sag. In between game, I have more time to learn. The most interesting thing for me is that I also have a lot more room to grow.
The rest of the division might find that a little frightening. But then, Olympics been damned. It’s time for a small sleep. And finally turn the page.