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Caitlin Clark officially on vacation during WNBA Paris Olympics break

VaselineJuly 21, 2024

4 3 minutes read

Caitlin Clark officially on vacation during WNBA Paris Olympics break

PHOENIX — Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark ran up the stairs to the interview podium after Saturday night’s WNBA All-Star Game and proclaimed, “I’m on vacation!” As she sat down, grinning from ear to ear, she told the media, “OK, last time for a month, ask your questions.”

Clark was giddy throughout her 6-minute availability, answering questions thoroughly and throwing in a few jokes. The entire time she was on stage, however, she had one thing on her mind: This was her last commitment before officially taking her first break from basketball in almost a year.

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Clark, who was not selected for Team USA for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, will now rest until Fever returns on August 16.

She didn’t say where she was going on vacation, but she was glad that at least she wouldn’t have to see a basketball court for a while.

“I really can’t wait to not touch a basketball for a while,” Clark said with a laugh. “I’ve shot too many times this past year.”

After the six minutes were up, she jumped up from her chair, wished everyone a “happy month!” and quickly walked down the stairs.

She finally got a break. A well-deserved one, too.

“I think it’s great that she’s getting a breather and a little bit of rest, just for our push after this Olympic break,” Fever coach Christie Sides said Wednesday. “I think it’s great for her, she’s just been going so hard for a while, and this is just going to help her relax a little bit.”

Clark has been playing nonstop basketball at a high level since September 2023, when her Iowa Hawkeyes began preparing for the 2023-24 college season. She played five months of the season and the most games possible, reaching the 2024 national championship game.

A week later, Clark was drafted to the Fever. Less than a month after playing her final college game with the Hawkeyes, she was in training camp preparing for the start of her rookie season.

Especially with the rookie’s outwardly focused fame, she’s easy to spot. She has to be on all the time. Physically, mentally and emotionally, it’s been non-stop for the Hawkeye-turned-Fever star. And she knows she needs time to unwind.

“I think sometimes it’s hard as a professional athlete, like people always realize that I feel like an individual, just like all of you,” Clark said. “I’m just the same person. I live my life, I do all the things you do, I just play basketball and then … everybody’s looking at you to perform, and everybody wants you to do this and be that, you have to be your best every day, and that’s just one side of it.”

Truly, it’s been an emotionally draining first half of the season for most Fever players. They’ve been under a microscope this season, with more fans and media following the Indiana team than ever before. The Fever’s opening schedule of 11 games in 20 days didn’t help matters either. The condensed schedule gave a young Indiana team minimal time to practice, leading to a 2-9 record to start the season.

During that time, people on social media were analyzing the body language of Clark, her new teammates, and Sides. People were calling for Sides to be fired, calling for other players to be traded, and calling for Clark to be put in a “better situation.”

Since that opening series, the Fever are 9-6 for an 11-15 record at halftime. It puts the Fever firmly in playoff position, seventh in the league.

And after 26 games everyone needs time to recover.

“What these guys went through from 1-8, that start, against the best teams in the league, early back-to-backs, it was just tough,” Sides said. “It was tough on them, it was tough on all of us, and just the expectations, that was another game changer. It’s just that they kept showing up, trying to get better, even when we couldn’t practice, it was on video. Just the resilience that they showed, I’m just so proud of them for that.”

Fever guard Lexie Hull said in a TikTok that she and some of her teammates would be heading to Mexico after their game against the Dallas Wings on Wednesday, but did not say who was traveling with her. The only Fever player not getting a break is Kristy Wallace, who is headed to the Olympics as part of Team Australia.

Clark, along with Fever sophomore center Aliyah Boston and seventh-year guard Kelsey Mitchell, had to wait a few more days before officially beginning their vacation. They had All-Star duties in Phoenix through Saturday night, culminating in a Team WNBA win, 117-109, over Team USA.

Now they are on vacation.

“I’m very excited,” Boston said after the game. “Very excited. I’m going to rest.”

Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.

VaselineJuly 21, 2024

4 3 minutes read

Vaseline

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