Five ways Caitlin Clark needs to improve in her second WNBA season

Caitlin Clark had been heavily pursued by Unrivaled, a new three on three offseason league wooing WNBA superstars with higher paychecks. It takes place in Miami over 10 weeks, and Clark would have been a headline player.

However, Clark ultimately declined the lucrative offer of reportedly up to $1 million, according to ESPN. This will give the Indiana Fever star a chance to focus on her game for the bulk of the WNBA offseason, and come back even better than she was in her first season.

Caitlin Clark has more than proved that her dynamic skill set can translate into the professional ranks. The future is extremely bright for her and the Indiana Fever.

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With that said, things weren’t perfect for Clark in her first year in the WNBA. There are areas she can improve upon that can take her to greater heights, which we’ll look at more closely here. All statistics are sourced from Basketball Reference.

Sports analyst Jason Whitlock called out Caitlin Clark for her inability to keep her cool for much of the WNBA season. The Fox Sports analyst wrote, “I thought Caitlin Clark’s behavior would improve and she would become less bratty. Instead, things have gotten much worse.”

Whitlock’s words seem strong, but Clark was one technical foul away from receiving an automatic suspension during her rookie season. She was constantly yelling at the officials, which put her on the precipice of making herself unavailable for her teammates.

Sports Illustrated wrote about the lengths Clark’s teammates were willing to go to keep her out of harm’s way when it came to avoiding technical fouls. It’s great that her peers looked out for her, but this takes energy and focus away from the task at hand: winning basketball games.

Throughout her illustrious college career, Caitlin Clark was a 37 percent shooter from three-point range. Of course, some of Clark’s attempts come from great distances, which is part of her appeal.

During her rookie season in the WNBA, Clark shot just 34 percent from downtown, which might be a little lower than fans expected. The efficiency that she displayed at Iowa wasn’t always there for the Fever as a rookie.

During a late season game against the Las Vegas Aces, Clark received some heat for taking a contested deep three pointer with just over a minute left with Indiana down two points. Sports Illustrated highlighted the reaction from fans, who called for better decision-making from Clark at that crucial point of the game. This can help boost her percentages from the field.

Caitlin Clark led the WNBA in turnovers with 223. While this number in and of itself isn’t all that concerning, it is at least somewhat alarming that this figure was the most by a mile. She committed 78 more turnovers than the player who finished second in this category, Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun.

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Former Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless defended Clark’s astronomical turnover rate. He wrote, “I forgive many of them because they’re so close to being spectacular passes. She also leads the league in assists and ‘wow’ passes.”

It seems like a given that Clark will be amongst the league leaders in turnovers, given how much she has the ball. Clark’s aggressiveness as a passer is something that should not be taken away, but cutting down the number of turnovers will also give the Fever more chances at the hoop.

Clark’s work ethic and dedication to becoming the best basketball player she can is no secret at this point. Forbes wrote, “Like every exceptional performer, Clark has devoted years to improving her craft.”

Anyone who watches Clark’s preparation to maintain her peak level of conditioning or refine her skill set will instantly learn important lessons. While this has made Clark individually great, one step she can take is to help her teammates excel in different ways.

We touched on the restraining committee that keeps Clark in check during spats with referees, but it’s hard to lead when a player is so incensed at the officials. A cooler head and a sense for knowing what to tell teammates on the floor during critical moments could go a long way in developing Clark as a leader.

Caitlin Clark averaged nearly seven free throw attempts per game during her college career at Iowa. This figure dropped noticeably during her rookie season in the WNBA.

Clark attempted 4.5 free throws per game in her first professional season. To no one’s surprise, she shot 90 percent once she got there. It would behoove her to get to the line more often, which would be another way of helping her team even more than she already does.

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Sports Illustrated noted the opinion of former NBA player Nick Young, who believes that Clark flopped too much as a rookie. This tends to draw the ire of officials, in addition to the less than flattering commentary Clark would fire in their direction. If she’s able to reduce the dramatic falls and the dialogue, it should help her case to get calls when she drives to the basket.