Rookie stars rested and ready for playoff fight

Caitlin Clark took full advantage of her snub by the US Olympic team.

She visited Mexico, attended a friend's wedding in Iowa, and even got to hang out with Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees. So, when the Indiana Fever star returned to practice this week, she was rested, revived and revved up to restart the WNBA season.

For Clark and the rest of this year's remarkable rookie class, the nearly monthlong Olympics break was a welcome and perhaps necessary respite before for the final sprint to the playoffs.

"Oh yeah, I think it was very helpful just to reset," Clark said. "Coming in here, I didn't know my teammates very well, and you're just kind of tossed out on the court, trying to figure each other out. I think you can tell I'd gotten more comfortable over the last few games heading into the break, so I was kind of like 'oh, I need the break'."

Clark was hardly alone in her assessment.

In Chicago, coach Teresa Weatherspoon acknowledged her two rookie stars — Angel Reese of LSU and Kamilla Cardoso of South Carolina, both NCAA champions — came back re-energized after enduring an unprecedented whirlwind for almost a full year.

From the moment college practices opened last fall, these rookies played under a white-hot glare rarely experienced in women's basketball — nightly sellout crowds, soaring ticket prices on secondary markets, record-breaking television ratings and their own incessant desire to live up to growing expectations.

"You talk about those two, especially coming from the college level, they just went year-round and the body needs a break," Weatherspoon said. "You want the body to have that break to remain productive."

With only eight days between the NCAA championship game and the WNBA draft, and two more weeks before the start of training camp, the fast pace continued into their pro careers.

Fans debated what long-term impact these women could have on the sport, while salaries, endorsement deals, chartered flights and, yes, even the Olympic selections continued to fuel interest in the sport.

In mid-May, the rookies began a 40-game regular season — one made all the more challenging by a modified schedule, compressed because of the long break.

"I think mentally we're all refreshed," said Reese, who went shopping in Paris during the layoff. "We needed that little break because we were playing back-to-backs, we were with each other on road trips for a really long time. I even tell my teammates I got lucky with this Olympic year, and they spoiled us, because now I'm looking forward to it every year."

Don't bet on it. When the break comes again, in 2028, Clark and Reese could be forming the nucleus of the United States' team in Los Angeles, while Cardoso hopes to represent Brazil.

But, that doesn't discount how the trio benefited this time around.

Cardoso, who missed Chicago Sky's first six games with a shoulder injury, got some extra time to recuperate. Reese and her teammates also healed up.

Clark, meanwhile, used the non-practice time to bond with teammates. They held a "home run derby", competed on an Indianapolis ropes course and braved some of the hottest temperatures of the summer to attend the Indiana State Fair.

Now, it's time to get back to playing basketball.

"Definitely need a game," Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides said after running a game between her players and the men who practice against them. "It's time to see some competition. Like, it's been a long time."

Indiana and Chicago resume their runs holding the final two spots in the league's eight-team playoff bracket.

The Fever has 14 games left, starting at home against Phoenix and Seattle, teams that have four players who returned from their Olympic break with gold medals — Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Kahleah Copper and Jewell Loyd.

The Sky has 16 games left, beginning Thursday night at home against Phoenix and followed by a three-game trip to Los Angeles, Phoenix and Connecticut.

The race to the playoffs is what matters now.

"I've been ready to get going and play games for a while," Clark said. "I think we're all kind of ready. We're kind of beating up on each other, beating up on the boys, and I think we want to get out there and feel like we're ready to play more games. I think this prep has been really good, but eventually you get to the point where it's like 'alright, let's go now.'"

AFP