Caitlin Clark has had a rough start in the WNBA, struggling to find her footing through her first two games as a professional. Playing for the Indiana Fever, the team is 0-2, having lost both games by a combined 57 points.

Ultimately, Diana Taurasi’s words about “reality coming” for Clark are proving true. Clark has struggled to adjust and is visibly frustrated. Known for showing her emotions on the court, she hasn’t shied away from expressing her discontent. During her first game, she got right up in an official’s face to complain about a soft foul call, and she was visibly seething during the blowout loss in her second game.


Clark, the No. 1 overall draft pick, turned the ball over 10 times in her debut on Tuesday night. Against the New York Liberty, one of the league’s best teams, she managed only 2-for-8 from the field, scoring just nine points on Thursday night.

 

Despite these struggles, Clark managed to post the most impressive stat line on the team with nine points, six assists, and seven rebounds. However, she is finding it difficult to get shots off as easily as she did at Iowa.

Caitlin Clark announces this is her last year at Iowa

Meanwhile, her head coach Christie Sides is already facing criticism for not positioning the greatest scorer in college basketball history for success. Fans are questioning her coaching strategies and their impact on Clark’s performance.

 

It’s premature to place all the blame on Sides. The roster around Clark, including Katie Lou Samuelson and Aliyah Boston, isn’t particularly strong. WNBA defenses are relentlessly double- and triple-teaming Clark in the paint, preventing her from getting open looks beyond the arc. They are pressuring her across the entire court, making it clear that the transition from college to the WNBA is no easy feat.