One glaring weakness could stop Caitlin Clark from reaching her potential

There wasn’t much slowing down Caitlin Clark in her rookie season with the Indiana Fever. The WNBA phenom shattered records left and right in her first professional campaign, leading many fans to believe that the sky is the limit. It might still be, but there is one thing that might get in the way of her enormous potential.

In high school, Clark made the decision that she would give basketball everything she had. She told Sports Illustrated, “When I got into high school, I kind of knew basketball was my future, and I loved it, and I wanted to practice. And I think that’s what was different. I wanted to get better at it, I wanted to spend time working on my game.”

Clark told SB Nation, “People think basketball is a job. No. I feel like I should find a job in the off-season. I get to play basketball every single day, and I know there are a lot of people who would kill to do that.”

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Clark has never wanted to blend in; she’s always wanted to stand out. Former Fever head coach Christie Sides told Bleacher Report, “She has that level of competitiveness in her and she wants everyone on her team to have that, and she has given that and it has infused several of our players to have more of that competitive spirit.”

While Clark’s burning desire to be the best at everything heavily contributes to her success, it might also be the reason why she doesn’t accomplish her goals if she’s not careful.

Clark doesn’t just want to win every single WNBA game she’s a part of. She wants to play a flawless game, and doesn’t always handle her emotions well when things don’t go her way.

Clark knows what she brings to the table from an intensity point of view. She told USA Today, “I’m competitive. I’m fiery. That’s how it is.”

During her rookie WNBA season, Clark picked up six technical fouls. Had she reached seven, she would have received an automatic one-game suspension. That’s not what Clark, her team, or the WNBA needs.

Clark told the Indianapolis Star in June 2024, “I think everybody is physical with me, they get away with things that probably other people don’t get away with.” Clark hasn’t shied away from letting the officials know her feelings about how she is guarded.

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Clark’s Fever teammates know how hot she can run, and took steps to protect her from herself. Sports Illustrated wrote about her “de-escalation committee,” which is a playful but real effort that Clark’s teammates took on to keep her away from arguing with officials.

Joe Kinsey of Outkick wrote about Clark’s attitude back when she was at Iowa. He said, “In the name of equality, if we’re going to hammer LeBron for constantly flopping, yelling at refs and constantly acting as if he’s never fouled another player on the court, then we need to have the same conversation about Clark.”

Sports columnist Jason Whitlock wrote, “The Indiana Fever assigned Caitlin Clark a group of babysitters. Her teammates are tasked with trying to prevent the petulant and entitled WNBA star from bickering with referees. It’s not working.”

Like Kinsey, Whitlock has also been monitoring this trend since Clark’s college days. He wrote, “Caitlin Clark’s dad spoke for all of us Saturday afternoon. From his seat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena he shouted two words to his talented and electrifying daughter. Clark’s father tells her to ‘shut up’ and stop complaining to officials.”

Clark even berated officials when she disagreed with their calls in a game she wasn’t even playing in. She attended an Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball game in November 2024, and was spotted yelling at referees when a call went against Iowa.

The WNBA and its referees know that ejecting Caitlin Clark from games is bad business. They’re going to try everything they can to avoid it, but Clark can’t put them in a position to do it in the first place.

At the end of the day, Clark’s greatest of all-time resume will be decided on how well she plays in the playoffs. It would be a shame if a technical foul she received in a postseason game cost her team a victory in a close game. It would be even more egregious if she was thrown out of a playoff game for constant arguing with the officials. Those seem like legitimate possibilities right now, but not if she can catch herself and improve on her one glaring weakness.

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