Caitlin Clark is one of the many newcomers to Team USA and the FIBA World Cup this year. After winning two gold medals at the U19 World Cup in 2019 and 2021, Clark finally made her debut for the senior national team on the big stage.
Kara Lawson has treated her and the other newbies as such, starting a veteran group of Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Kahleah Copper, Breanna Stewart, and Napheesa Collier over Clark and the other young stars on the team. That group also closed a tough game against Italy, with the exception of Aliyah Boston stepping in for Collier. But due to blowout wins over China and Czechia, the younger players have still gotten plenty of opportunities, and they haven’t disappointed.
Clark, especially, has shown what makes her so valuable to Team USA. Surrounded by stars, she may not get the same shots as she does with the Indiana Fever, but her playmaking has allowed her to set herself apart even when she doesn’t get a lot of shots up or the ones she takes aren’t falling. Clark may be coming off the bench in this tournament, but she certainly looks like Team USA’s starting point guard of the future.
Caitlin Clark has excelled as a playmaker for Team USA
Despite coming off the bench, Clark leads Team USA in assists per game with 6.3. Paige Bueckers is next in line with 3.7, followed by Breanna Stewart and Jackie Young with three per game each.
Clark’s passing also matches up well with the rest of the teams competing in the World Cup. Sevgi Uzun and Julie Allemand are the only players who averaged more assists than Clark during the group phase with 8.3 and 8 per game, respectively. Clark’s one-assist game against Italy set her back a bit compared to the other two, but she will have plenty of time left to claim the assist lead. Uzun and Türkiye have already been eliminated, so Clark will only have to catch up to Allemand.
Clark has also been able to keep her turnovers pretty low, averaging just 1.3 per game and not turning it over at all in her debut against China.
Given all of the talent in the Team USA player pool, Clark may not emerge as the program’s leading scorer in this World Cup or future tournaments, but she is already establishing herself as a top playmaker and point guard. With Chelsea Gray slowly but surely aging out of her prime, Clark will be ready to take on that starting spot soon—although Olivia Miles might make that decision more difficult than it seems now.
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