Caitlin Clark's skill on the basketball court is no longer in question. With respect to Angel Reese, who is also having a terrific season, Clark is going to win the Rookie of the Year award.
Now, the Fever star's critics are pointing to something new — her attitude.
Clark's anger can be startling. She jaws at everyone on the court, including herself. Cameras appeared to catch her telling the Storm to stop crying during Sunday's Fever victory. She matched Diana Taurasi's trash talk a few days earlier with some choice words. She complains to officials a lot, so much so that she received her fifth technical of the year after slamming the stanchion in frustration at missing a shot.
That referee later claimed that Clark was "being disrespectful to the game of basketball."
There's no denying that Clark has a fiery temper on the court. But a lack of respect for the game? Her definition of respect is different from the one that many would choose for her. That doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.
How about holding the ball at the end of a recent win against the Mercury, rather than trying to chase a 30-point, 10-assist stat line? Or calling her Storm opponent Jewell Loyd amazing after the buzzer on Sunday?
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Clark has regularly lauded her teammates. After beating the Storm, she was more excited about Fever guard Lexie Hull's career-high 22 points than her own feat of breaking the rookie assist record. She has been one of the most receptive players in the league about signing autographs for young fans. Respect comes in different forms.
That's not to hand-wave away her penchant for picking up technical fouls, which has real impacts on her team. She is two away from earning an automatic one-game suspension. Once she passes that seven technical mark, every other technical will earn her a subsequent missed game.
With the Fever in the middle of a playoff race, she can't afford to let that happen. Her coach, Christie Sides, has tried to tone down the behavior. And Clark knows that there is a fine line between competitive fire and hurting her team, as she told the Washington Post back in 2023.
“I get mad. You have reactions that you don’t always love in the heat of battle. I’m full of passion no matter what I’m doing. I’m going to give you every single part of me. I’m going to give my heart to this. I want young girls to know that you can play with joy and passion.”
Give Clark credit. She has been figuring out how to control that emotion better. At 22 years old, it's unreasonable to expect her to have it all figured out.
Clark's first three technical fouls all came within the first two weeks of the season. Her play and anger had been better since then. She's come a long way from her dad yelling at her to stop complaining during one of Iowa's NCAA Tournament games a year ago.
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Clark is under much more scrutiny than her peers, too. Taurasi and Natasha Cloud lead the WNBA with six technicals apiece. Arike Ogunbowale, Kahleah Copper and Clark each have five. Those players have a combined 19 All-Star selections between them. Emotion goes hand-in-hand with greatness for many stars.
The same is true for her NBA counterparts. Luka Doncic led the NBA last season with 19 technical fouls. It's not uncommon to see him muttering to himself in frustration after teammates' mistakes or screaming at officials. Michael Jordan and Larry Bird were two of the greatest trash-talkers of their generation.
Clark has gotten this far by harnessing an intense desire to be the best. "To her, everything is a competition," her father once told ESPN. Her critics would love for her to be a better role model, but her job is to win games.
As long as Clark isn't hurting her team by keeping herself off the floor, then some portion of people not liking it is their problem, not hers. Others want her to fit into all sorts of differently-shaped boxes that they've created for her. But this is who she is — a trash talker, a fiery personality and above all else, a terrific basketball player.