- Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever has been the recipient of some physical plays this season in the WNBA.
- A tweet revealed that she had been flagrantly fouled five times this season, which is 17% of the league’s flagrant-foul total. Four of those fouls have been by the Chicago Sky.
- However, a more in-depth look by the Sporting News shows that it might not be targeting, for the most part.
Anything that Caitlin Clark does, or happens to Clark, will be big news in the WNBA. The Indiana Fever rookie has taken the league by storm in her debut campaign. She has been especially good since the Olympic restart. Clark is also on the shortlist of WNBA MVP candidates at online sportsbooks. However, the focus continues to be on the physical play that Clark has encountered this season.
A X (formerly known as Twitter) account called the CClark Report posted a stat on August 31 that 17% of the WNBA’s flagrant fouls have been committed on Clark. 80% of those flagrant fouls have been committed by the Chicago Sky, who are led by the league’s other Rookie of the Year candidate, Angel Reese.
On September 1, The Sporting News looked deeper into the fouls to provide some context, and it might not be as bad as many believe.
There Have Been Five Flagrant Fouls Committed on Clark; Four Have Come from Chicago
It is a fact that 17% of the league’s flagrant fouls have come against Clark. Data from Across the Timeline supports this, as there have been 31 flagrant fouls in total. There have been 31 flagrant fouls in the WNBA this season, including 30 Flagrant 1 fouls, and one Flagrant 2. The Flagrant 2, which is a cause for immediate ejection, coincidentally came against Reese and was committed by Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas on May 25.
While 17% of the flagrant fouls have come against Clark, there have only been five fouls actually committed. Stephen Noh of The Sporting News wrote an article, with video, so people can decide for themselves if Clark is being targeted.
From the article, you could argue that one was definitely a flagrant foul, and that is the Chennedy Carter hip check. You could also argue that the fifth foul, which just took place on August 30 in a Fever 100-81 win over the Sky, was also a flagrant foul. Diamond DeShields ran into Clark late in the game when Indiana was up big. It was a frustration foul, but you can argue that.
The other three, however, seemed to be basketball plays. Two came on aggressive closeouts, and the opposing player was in Clark’s landing zone. The other was Reese’s foul on Clark when she contested a shot and hit Clark in the head. Clark and Reese have both come out and said that it was just a part of the game.
Is Clark Being Targeted? Yes and No.
To her credit, Clark is playing through the physicality of the league. Since the Olympic break, she is averaging 24.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 9.0 assists in seven games. The Fever are 6-1 in those games.
There is an argument that says Clark is being targeted for physical play. There is also an argument that she isn’t the first great player to go through this, and she won’t be the last. The WNBA is a physical league, possibly more physical than the NBA. Reese had a flagrant foul committed on her in the fourth game of the season. The great Michael Jordan had to go through this as well, as Detroit’s “Bad Boys” made it clear they were going to knock him to the ground every time he had the ball.
There is also the Clark vs. Reese narrative in the media that pits these players against one another. But at the WNBA All-Star Game, we saw these two would be fantastic teammates on the court. Reese’s teammates might take more exception to the attention than Reese does.
The two have been setting rookie records all season. They’re also battling at WNBA betting sites in the Rookie of the Year odds, although it looks like Clark is the likely winner.
But it was good to see some context provided surrounding the Clark flagrant fouls. Yes, the league is physical with her, but Clark can handle it.
