Since becoming a star for the Iowa women's college basketball program, Caitlin Clark has received countless awards and accolades for her outstanding achievements on the court. She led the NCAA in scoring and assists three different times, became the all-time NCAA Division I scoring leader, and was a three-time first-team All-American. Her success made her the unquestioned No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever, and shortly after, a rookie WNBA All-Star.
More often than not, Clark had been the first pick—the easy pick—for any award or honor. That is until the Paris Olympics. In a move that garnered some controversy, Clark was left off the United States women's basketball national team roster for the Paris Olympic Games.
Though Clark wanted to be on the team, she ultimately understood the decision. She has called the team "the toughest to make", and knew she had not played her best early in the 2024 WNBA season.
Clark felt good enough for the team, but is glad she was not put on the team solely because of her marketing power or stardom. Clark has brought incredible increases in ratings and viewership to women's basketball, but for her, that was not a reason she should make the Olympic team.
“I don’t want to be there because I’m somebody that can bring attention,” Clark told Sean Gregory of Time. “I love that for the game of women’s basketball. But at the same time, I want to be there because they think I’m good enough. I don’t want to be some little person that is kind of dragged around for people to cheer about and only watch because I’m sitting on the bench. That whole narrative kind of upset me. Because that is not fair. It’s disrespectful to the people that were on the team, that had earned it and were really good. And it’s also disrespectful to myself. ”
It's not common for WNBA rookies to make the Olympic team, but there was belief that Clark could be the exception, as she has often been throughout her career. Ultimately, Team USA named Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Sabrina Ionescu, Kahleah Copper, Chelseas Gray, A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Diana Taurasi, Jackie Young, Alyssa Thomas, and Brittney Griner to the squad, and the team went on to win their eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
In the meantime, Clark used the snub as motivation and came back from the Olympic break better than before.
Before the All-Star break, Clark averaged 17.1 points per game. That average increased by six points after the All-Star break and Olympic Games as she averaged 23.1 points per game after the break. After starting the season 11-15 heading into the All-Star break, Clark helped the Fever go 9-5 after the break and make the playoffs for the first time since 2016, ending the longest postseason drought in WNBA history.
If Clark's career trajectory continues as expected, she likely won't be left off rosters for the Olympic Games in the future. Instead, she will more likely be sporting a gold medal around her neck at the Los Angeles 2028 and/or Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Caitlin Clark Reveals True Thoughts on Not Making Paris Olympics Team.
