Caitlin Clark isn’t getting caught up in the negativity of her Team USA Olympic women’s basketball team snub.
The Indiana Fever rookie guard said she is excited to pull for the U.S. women’s basketball team in the upcoming 2024 Paris Games from July 26-Aug. 11. Admittedly, Clark is going to use it as fuel for her basketball fire, though.
“I’m excited for the girls that are on the team. I know it’s the most competitive team in the world and I know it could have gone either way, me being on the team or me not being on the team. I’m going to be rooting them on to win gold. I was a kid that grew up watching the Olympics, so it will be fun to watch them.
“Honestly, no disappointment. It just gives me something to work for. It’s a dream. Hopefully one day I can be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation. You remember that. Hopefully when four years comes back around, I can be there,” Clark told reporters on Sunday.
Clark is averaging 16.8 points, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds for the 3-9 Fever. She is shooting 37.3% from the field, 32.7% from 3-point range and 89.3% from the free throw line in her first 12 games in the WNBA.
With the decision to omit Clark from the Olympic roster, it means that Clark will get a chance to catch her breath. The WNBA season pauses following the July 17 games with the WNBA All-Star Game slated for July 20 in Phoenix. In order to accommodate the Olympics, the WNBA season resumes on Aug. 15.
Clark is certainly looking forward to that chance to rest and recuperate.
“Absolutely, it’s going to be really nice. I’ve loved competing every single second. But it’s going to be a great month for my body to get rest, get healthy and just get a little time away from basketball and the craziness of everything that’s been going on. And just find some peace and quiet for myself.
“But then additionally, it’s a great opportunity for us to work and get better. A great opportunity for myself to get in the weight room. To work on the court at things that I want to get better at that I maybe didn’t have time (to) going from college to the pro season. So, I’m looking forward to it. But at the same time, we still have a month of games where we have a lot of opportunities to win a lot of games. That’s where my main focus is,” Clark said.
Clark said USA Basketball officials called to inform her that she hadn’t made the roster before it began to leak.
“They called me and let me know before everything came out, which was really respectful of them, and I appreciated that. They did the same for every girl that made the team or every girl that didn’t make the team. There was a lot of players in the Olympic pool, it’s not like I was the only one they had to call. They had to make quite a few calls,” Clark said.
Clark and the Fever return to action on Monday at the Connecticut Sun at 6 p.m. on NBA TV.
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