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Michael VoepelMay 16, 2025, 05:43 PM ET
- Michael Voepel is simply a elder writer who covers the WNBA, women's assemblage hoops and different assemblage sports. Voepel began covering women's hoops successful 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Fever defender Caitlin Clark was the WNBA's rookie of the twelvemonth and named to the all-league archetypal squad successful 2024. But the motorboat of her pro vocation was -- arsenic expected -- a challenge, with galore observers scrutinizing each determination of the No. 1 pick, whose Fever began the play 1-8 but recovered to decorativeness 20-20 and marque the playoffs for the archetypal clip since 2016.
Those archetypal fewer weeks were hard to get through, but Clark did it.
This season, arsenic she and the Fever unfastened astatine location against the Chicago Sky connected Saturday (3 p.m. ET, ABC), Clark understandably feels overmuch much comfortable.
"Honestly, I don't adjacent truly retrieve past year's [opener]," a smiling Clark said astir the Fever's 92-71 nonaccomplishment astatine Connecticut, successful which she had 20 points and 10 turnovers. "Maybe that's a bully thing. I deliberation [this year] it's conscionable going retired determination and having amusive and being confident. I've been successful this league for a twelvemonth now. I cognize I belong. I cognize I tin perform, and I tin marque my teammates amended each azygous night. And that's my job.
"Not everything's gonna beryllium perfect. Give yourself grace. There's gonna beryllium truly bully moments. There's gonna beryllium moments wherever you struggle. So conscionable trying to enactment arsenic neutral arsenic I tin and enactment positive. But ... I've been successful these moments before, and I'm acceptable for them."
Clark led the WNBA successful assists (8.4 per game) and 3-pointers (122) past play portion averaging 19.2 points and 5.7 rebounds. The Fever were swept by the Sun successful the archetypal round, but conscionable getting backmost to the postseason was a large measurement for the franchise.
There is simply a batch for Clark, 2023 No. 1 prime Aliyah Boston and the Fever -- nether caller manager Stephanie White, successful her 2nd stint successful Indiana -- to physique connected for 2025.
Clark said that upon reflection, her archetypal twelvemonth successful the WNBA was not dissimilar being a freshman successful precocious schoolhouse and past successful college.
"You amusement up successful a caller section of your life. You're trying to beryllium to yourself -- to everybody -- that you belong, and you're trying to find your way," she said. "When you travel into your 2nd play ... you cognize what the manager expects of you, you cognize your teammates, you cognize however things operate. You conscionable person a antithetic consciousness of assurance astir you."
The Fever went 3-1 against the Sky past season. The geographic closeness of the franchises, and Chicago having its ain rookie standouts successful Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, lit a occurrence nether the rivalry.
Saturday is the archetypal of 5 meetings betwixt the Fever and Sky successful the 44-game regular season, arsenic they look disconnected erstwhile each period from May-September.
"Rivalries are real, and that's what makes sports truthful amazing," Clark said. "There's definite teams that those games conscionable mean a small spot more. [We] travel retired present and play the aforesaid mode each night, but [a rivalry] gets the fans involved, and they emotion it."
