Caitlin Clark is officially back on the 5x5 basketball court as part of Team USA's training camp in Durham, North Carolina, and it sounds like she's feeling better than ever.
As Clark told reporters Friday, she's completely recovered from her injuries from earlier this year. She said, "I'm back to where I was before I got hurt." That's excellent news for women's basketball fans from across the spectrum, whether you're into USA Basketball or the WNBA, and especially good news for Indiana Fever fans, who will be thrilled to see Clark return to the court as soon as possible in 2026.
Clark also emphasized that the moment she "touched the basketball to start warming up before practice even started, that's probably when I felt pretty comfortable" with being back on the floor. Clark added that she put in a tremendous amount of work to get back to playing shape, and feels at this point she is "even better" than she was earlier this year.
Caitlin Clark is part of a new era in USA Basketball
Clark and many of her teammates, including Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, and Cameron Brink, are part of a new wave of women's basketball players who are bringing energy and youth to the future of USA Basketball. In their interviews Thursday and Friday, many of the players have emphasized how special it is to be part of the group that will build the team that represents the United States in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Clark was no exception. "I think it obviously speaks to the way USA basketball does such a great job at the junior national team level of really getting you kind of involved in the program and understanding what USA basketball is about," she said of the enthusiasm and talent surrounding the program. "You understand how big of an honor it is to be able to do this. And if you're lucky enough to do it, you know, just once that's incredibly cool to represent your country."
CBA negotiations are still holding up a 2026 season
Right now, the WNBA's leadership and the players have until January 9 to come up with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The current concerns surrounding the CBA include whether or not teams will continue to offer stipends that help cover player housing, how revenue sharing will play out, and if the league will begin earlier than ever before (the WNBA recently proposed a start date as early as mid-March, which would put it before the end of the NCAA season).
Things have been pretty quiet since a wave of news was released last week, and it's unclear how many conversations both parties will have before the holiday season.