Fever star Caitlin Clark said she’s trying remain positive after a winless start to her WNBA career.
After a 85-83 loss to the Seattle Storm on Wednesday, Indiana is 0-5 to start the season for the first time ever.
“You’re never happy to lose,” said Clark, who finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, per ESPN. “It’s not fun, but at the same time there’s just a lot of things to build on. I’m just trying to be as positive as possible, continue to learn, continue to stack days. I know that first win will be right around the corner.”
Clark, the Fever’s No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April, had the best outing of her pro career in front of a sellout crowd of 18,343 in Seattle.
She scored or assisted on 34 of the Fever’s 83 points, and showed off a valiant defensive effort — but it wasn’t enough to help put Indiana in the win column.
It was Clark’s third straight road game scoring at least 20 points.
The 22-year-old found her rhythm offensively in the second half after a slow start, as she had five points on 2-of-9 shooting before halftime.
Wednesday’s loss to Seattle came down to the final minute.
The Fever couldn’t get it done while down by one on the final possession when a hail-mary shot from half-court by forward Aliyah Boston missed.
“Probably the longest minute of a basketball game I’ve been a part of in a long time,” Clark said of the final minute of play, which included two reviews that took more than 20 minutes of real time to play, according to ESPN. “We definitely gave ourselves a chance, but at the same time there were some little things that we shot ourselves in the foot.”
Clark — who led Iowa to two consecutive NCAA championship appearances in each of the last two seasons, and became the NCAA’s Division I all-time leading scorer for men or women — has been under a microscope five games into her pro career.
While her celebrity has helped boost the WNBA’s popularity and attendance across the league, Clark has been the subject of both praise and criticism.
During the latest installment of LeBron James and JJ Redick’s “Mind the Game” podcast, the Lakers star weighed in on the attention Clark has received when asked how he dealt with similar vitriol when he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft at age 18.
“The one thing that I love that she’s bringing to her sport: More people want to watch, more people want to tune in. Don’t get it twisted, don’t get it f–ked up, Caitlin Clark is the reason why a lot of great things is going to happen for the WNBA,” James, now 39, said.
“But for her individually, I don’t think she should get involved on nothing that’s being said. Just go have fun, enjoy… There’s a very small number of men and women that actually get to live out their dream of playing a professional sport.
“And we have grown ass men and women out here doing whatever they can to try to make sure that does not happen. That is the weirdest thing in the world, but it is what it is. And I’m glad that Caitlin has a great head on her shoulders.”
