There was a fiery debate about whether Caitlin Clark should've made the 2024 Paris Olympics roster before the break. Clark enjoyed some much-needed R&R before the WNBA returned, and she propelled the Indiana Fever to their first playoff berth since 2016.
The time off greatly benefitted Clark. If she played the way she is now when Team USA made its roster decisions, there's a good chance she'd be on the team. The transition from college basketball to the WNBA is challenging for several reasons, but Clark caught on and has smashed records along the way.
She recorded the first-ever triple-double by a rookie against the top team in the league, set a single-game record with 19 assists, and broke the rookie record for three-pointers made in a single season. Expectations were high for Clark when she was drafted No. 1 overall, and she's more than risen to the occasion.
Caitlin Clark and Fever are on another level since Olympic break
As impressive as those statistics are, what's more telling is that since the Olympic break, the Fever have the third-best net rating (6.1) in the league, behind the Lynx (9.8) and Liberty (8.9). That statistic alone should make fans feel confident.
Indiana also has the second-highest offensive rating (110.4) and the third-highest three-point percentage (35.2%) since the break. The Fever are 8-2 since they returned.
Indiana would play Connecticut in the first round if the season ended today. The Fever got crushed by the Sun in their first game of the season, 92-71, but beat them for the first time on Aug. 28, 84-80.
Clark and Indiana are playing their best basketball of the season at the perfect time. It's been nine years since the Fever advanced past the first round of the playoffs, and that's a streak they could snap in 2024. They're the team you don't want to face.
At the beginning of the season, it seemed like Indiana would miss the postseason for the eighth straight year. Drafting a generational talent changed everything!