When Caitlin Clark returned to the court, the Indiana Fever star was out of breath early in the game, having been away from basketball for a while.
Clark had been playing non-stop since last November, after starting her senior year of college at Iowa, and was promptly drafted and began her WNBA career.
Not being on the Olympic team gave Clark a much-needed break, but it also threw her off her rhythm a bit, leaving her tired after just a few minutes.
She told reporters after Friday night’s 98-89 victory over the Phoenix Mercury.
“I asked for a sub at six minutes, if I’m being honest,” Clark said, laughing. “I was like, Holy cow. I think it was like seven minutes. I asked for a sub. I was like, ‘I need a quick minute here.’
Caitlin Clark said she had to be substituted early in her match due to exhaustion
She eventually recovered, scoring 29 points and dishing out ten assists in a win over Phoenix
“Because we played fast and my defense is not that good. That’s a burden for my team. I just need to catch my breath.”
Despite her early fatigue, Clark says she has been able to maintain her playing ability relatively well.
“It’s been, I think, pretty easy to get back into game shape,” Clark said. “We’ve been battling really hard in practice and playing our guys live. We’ve had referees come in. I think we’ve played live five times, basically.
“We just played a practice game. The best way to stay in basketball shape is just to play live basketball, but of course it will be very difficult to imitate a real game. So it felt good to play again.”
Clark put on a show for the home fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse with a 29-point, 10-assist performance that impressed and delighted.
She shot 8 of 16 efficiently and 4 of 11 from behind the three-point line.