Caitlin Clark Explains How Technical Foul Scare Has Become 'Positive' for Fever

Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark had an interesting response when asked about her technical foul tally.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) speaks with an official after being called for a technical foul | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Now that the Indiana Fever's regular season is one day away from resuming, fans have to start worrying about star guard Caitlin Clark's technical foul tally again.

Clark currently has seven technical fouls this season. If she picks up an eighth before the regular season ends, she will be suspended for a game. And the Fever can't afford to have her miss any action, given how crucial these final four games will be for playoff seeding purposes.

Clark spoke with the media on Thursday morning and had an interesting response when asked whether anything had changed since she said she wouldn't let her growing technical foul tally change her approach on the court earlier this year.

"I think it has certainly been a conscious effort about it. And I think it's helped me play better basketball. It's just, like, focus on what I need to focus on, and let the last play go. You can't go back in time and change things," Clark said, per a YouTube video from the Fever.

"I feel like the refs might also know I have seven technical fouls, so I always try to warn them, like, 'I'm working with you, I'm working with you! Let's have a conversation,'" Clark continued. "I think it has made my conversations with [referees] more positive and more conversational, both for them and for me. But yeah, I really only have three more games to go, because [if] the fourth game starts [and] I get a technical, I'm not kicked out of the game, and then it resets for the playoffs.

"I'm really proud of myself. But still, three games to go. I think it's helped me learn a lot about myself and the ways that I can impact my team, and how to communicate with the refs, and things that are going to help this team. I think it's just allowed me to focus on the things that are important," she added.

Caitlin Clark's Growth Shown in Referee Relationships

One criticism that some of Clark's detractors have had throughout her WNBA career is that she doesn't treat referees with respect and often complains to them about how she's officiated during games.

Regardless of how one feels about this, nobody can deny that a big reason why she's among the league leaders in technical fouls is that she gets them from how she interacts with referees, usually after either a missed call when Clark is on offense or a called foul when she's on defense.

But this answer suggests that Clark is adjusting how she speaks to referees because of this technical foul tally, which should continue to serve her when her technicals reset during the postseason.

It will be interesting to see whether Clark keeps this "conversational" style of speaking to referees once that tally resets, or whether she reverts to her previous means of interaction with them.