Caitlin Clark Cites USA Basketball On-Court Plans Amid Fever Exit Interview
While the WNBA Finals start on October 3, many women's basketball fans (particularly those who follow Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark) have already focused on the upcoming offseason.
This is because Clark only competed in 13 games in 2025, which was the result of several soft tissue injuries. If Clark doesn't compete in any games this offseason, it will mean that she will have been sidelined for 10 months by the time the 2026 WNBA regular season begins (assuming the season starts in mid-May).
This is not only brutal news for Clark's massive fan base, but would not be ideal for Clark herself, given how important competing is for staying in game shape and continuing to develop.
When speaking with the media on October 2, Fever head coach Stephanie White said of Clark, "I think first and foremost, she builds up her endurance, her on the court activity. Making sure that she's healthy. And then, continuing to move forward in terms of mechanics, number one, and number two, basketball.
"She's got to, at some point in this offseason, play five-on-five. It's going to have been a long time since she has. And so how we get that together, we'll have to see," White added.
There has been a lot of speculation about whether Clark will compete in Unrivaled this winter. However, given that White emphasized that Clark needs to play five-on-five (Unrivaled is three-on-three), it suggests that Unrivaled isn't in Clark's plans.
Caitlin Clark Sends Clear Message Offseason Competition Plans
Clark also spoke with the media on October 2 (which was the first time she did so in months), and addressed her offseason focus at one point.
"I mean, probably take a little bit of a break here. Just for, maybe a week," Clark said with a smile when asked about her plans this offseason, perhaps suggesting that a week of rest will be difficult for her, per a video on Tony East's YouTube account. "I don't really want to lose a ton of the stuff I've worked on. Just trying to get my body back to full health.
"There's some USA basketball stuff I need to get ready for. And I need to be able to find some runs, and ways to play five-on-five, just so I can kind of get that feel back," she continued. "But more than anything, I think my main focus is really just getting my body healthy. And once we get back to five-on-five, just being able to test my body and making sure it's in a good spot, where I know it's gonna be able to hold up with everything that we think we've corrected to be able to know I'm in a really good spot there."
She later added, "So that's probably going to be my main focus, is just feeling 100% again, and having that confidence in my body, too."
When asked to expand upon her comments, Clark added, "I think you explore every opportunity. I haven't made any decisions, and I don't know what that's necessarily gonna look like for me. Like I said, there's some USA Basketball stuff that is probably my top priority right now, that I need to prepare for. And I think that will help me prepare for next season, too."
It doesn't sound like Unrivaled is part of Clark's plans right now. But the fact that she referenced USA Basketball specifically is interesting. While there are no official women's USA Basketball competitions coming up any time soon, she's probably referring to tryouts and other things that will put her in a position to make the roster for the 2028 Olympics.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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