Team USA Not Selecting Caitlin Clark for 2024 Paris Olympics Might Be the Best Thing for Her – Here’s How

The USA selectors recently announced their pick for the Paris Olympics. The women’s basketball team has 12 players and is led by veterans such as A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. A notable thing about the team is that it comprises mostly of stalwarts who already have a good experience under their belt. Therefore, the roster snubbed America’s favorite athlete Caitlin Clark.

This led to a lot of people criticizing the selection committee on social media networking platforms. However not many have pondered that this rejection from the team this year could have been a blessing in disguise. Today Essentially Sports explores five possible reasons why this might be a positive sign for Clark.

Caitlin Clark needs to rest

One of the few reasons that the exclusion might benefit Clark is that it gives her rest. Clark has been playing since November when she starred in the NCAA. She surpassed the legendary Pete Maravich as the leading NCAA men’s and women’s all-time scorer. She led her team the Iowa Hawkeyes to two consecutive NCAA Championship Finales. This might have put a lot of strain on her. She too like every other athlete deserves a break and nothing better than giving her some rest.

During her final year in college, Clark started in all 39 games she played and also had a minutes average of 34.8. Similarly, now that she has come into the WNBA, Clark is averaging 33.5 minutes per contest. Therefore, going by the hectic season she definitely deserves a break, and what better way than to take a rest next month in July? This will also give her time to introspect and see where her career trajectory.

Caitlin Clark needs time to adjust to the WNBA

Clark has previously spoken about the physicality of the WNBA. In her latest controversy, during her game against the Chicago Sky Chennedy Carter pushed he as she fell to the ground. All this points out the difficulty she is experiencing currently in the league. Currently, she averages 16.3 points per game which is far less than her NCAA average of 28.4 points per contest.

Clark therefore needs to concentrate on the league and see how she can achieve her full potential. Not going to the Olympics gives her time to adjust to the league and also make a strong bond with the Indiana Fever squad. It will be clear once the WNBA restarts after the Olympics how Clark has utilized her time and hopefully, by then she will be having better co-ordination with her teammates and also learn the tricks of the trade of the cash-rich league.

Caitlin Clark would have needed to understand new tactics had she made it to the Olympics

Clark is a rookie this year. The WNBA team is composed mostly of veterans such as A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Brittney Griner, etc. These athletes are already accustomed to playing at the highest level and have good coordination among themselves. They can understand each other’s minds having played for so many years against each other. Therefore, for them, it would be easy to catch onto the tactics of the Olympic team. However, the same cannot be said of Clark.

Clark is just adjusting to the WNBA and a new team would have meant understanding newer tricks and tactics and also reading newer brains in just a short span of time. This could have gone either way. Either Clark could have emerged as a champion which she already is and has proven that time and time again, or it could have messed up things for her. The second possible outcome would have been a nightmare for Clark. Therefore, this comes as a positive break for her.

Caitlin Clark’s snub doesn’t disturb the dynamics of the Fever

Another reason why this snub could be a boon is because Clark gives Clark to get closer to the Fever team. If she had started prepping up for the Olympics she could have missed the opportunity to read the mindset of her Indiana teammates since most of her energy would have been concentrated on understanding Wilson & Co. Plus it is to be noted that her prominent Fever teammates Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston have never got a chance to ply their trade in the Olympics.

Therefore, Clark making it to the Olympics even in her rookie year could have created some misadjustments in the team. Plus Mitchell’s average is quite that near to that of Clark. While Clark averages 16.8 points per game, Mitchell has an average of 15.2. Hence, it would be too unfair on Mitchell and might have possibly created a rift in the team. And that is why it’s better that Clark only has to worry about the Fever as of now.

Caitlin Clark gets the desired push

Another reason that this recent exclusion could work in Clark’s favor is because it might give her the desired push. The Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides recently revealed that Clark had stated “They’ve woken a monster” as per Daily Mail after the team for the Olympics was announced.

Though the complete effects of the Olympic snub remain to be seen, Clark did have her first 30-point game in the WNBA against the Washington Mystics. Hence, instead of looking at it from a negative point of view, fans should instead rejoice that their star has got the necessary thrust and this can propel her to reach new heights. 

It will be interesting to see how Clark performs in the next games and if the Olympic exclusion has really helped her be better at her skills. Hopefully, for fans, Clark will come back stronger and make a bold statement with her next games. Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.