Caitlin Clark grades her rookie season as ‘solid’ after playoff exit: ‘I’m just scratching the surface’

Caitlin Clark is a tough grader.

In her 2024 rookie season with the Indiana Fever, the Iowa-legend-turned-WNBA-superstar drew more eyes to women’s professional basketball in the U.S. than the league had ever seen. Yet all she would call her first professional year was “solid.”

On Wednesday, the 22-year-old was far more focused on what lay ahead.

“I know there’s a lot of room for me to continue to improve,” Clark said after the Fever were knocked out of the playoffs by the Connecticut Sun.

“I feel like I had a solid year, but for me, the fun part is I feel like I’m just scratching the surface.”

The surface was one of the greatest seasons in WNBA history.

Clark’s rookie year ended on a high note as she thrived in the second half of the season, particularly after the WNBA returned from its Olympic break. After averaging 16.2 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game in the first 20 contests, she averaged 22.3 points, 10.0 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game in the second half of the regular season.

Caitlin Clark is the first rookie in WNBA history to have 25/5/5 in a playoff game. pic.twitter.com/84LX2vjsdG

— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 26, 2024

That stretch featured historic moments, including the first rookie triple-double in WNBA history and a single-game record of 19 assists. Her 337 total assists were the most in a season in league history, while her 1,333 combined points, assists and rebounds were the most by a rookie in league history.

Her strong finish to the season also propelled the Fever through the WNBA standings after Indiana began the season 1-8, a start which coach Christie Sides compared to getting “punched in the mouth.”

After their rapid gelling and turnaround to make the playoffs and snap an eight-year Fever postseason drought, Clark said Wednesday her favorite moments of the past year aren’t ones that fans saw on the court, but the relationships built off it.

“At the end of the day, it’s the people and the relationships and the memories outside of that,” she said. “If that’s not it for you as a professional athlete, I feel like you’re doing it wrong.

“Championships are great, hopefully, we have a few of those, but you want to have really good relationships with people at the end of the day.”

Required reading

(Photo: Joe Buglewicz / Getty Images)