Watch out, Nelly Korda.
Caitlin Clark joked after her rookie season ended Wednesday night with a first-round playoff loss that she would now be focusing her time on the links with plenty of free time on her hands.
“I was focused on beating the Connecticut Sun, I hadn’t thought too far down the line,” Clark said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow, I don’t know what I’m going to the next day. Maybe play some golf. I think that’s what I’m gonna do until it becomes too cold in Indiana. I’ll become a professional golfer.”
The conversation about Clark’s offseason arose after a reporter cited an in-game report during the Fever’s 87-81 loss in Game 2 to the Sun that Clark would not play overseas in the offseason as some WNBA players do.
The international stints afford further financial compensation in a sport with limited salaries.
Clark’s answer avoided addressing that topic, although teammate Aliyah Boston indicated she would prefer her teammate stay on the hardwood instead of playing 18 holes.
“Not too much, babe,” Boston quipped after the line about golf. “Keep it basketball.”
When she’s not teeing it up, Clark certainly can enjoy some downtime after a hectic year that saw her go right from leading Iowa to the national title game — where the Hawkeyes lost to powerhouse South Carolina — to helping the Fever reach the playoffs.
Clark did not play in the Olympics, although that came with plenty of controversy due to her omission.
“Was definitely different for me. I feel like basketball has consumed my life for a year or so,” Clark said. “I feel like it will be good for me to kind of reflect back on everything that’s happened. I feel like I didn’t have time to really reflect back on my college career because it ended so fast and then I came here and was trying to give everything I could to this team and kind of move on and put all that behind me and help this team get back to the playoffs.
“I feel like taking some to myself and enjoying that and reflecting back — it was special. There was a lot of things this group accomplished that a lot of people probably didn’t think was possible, one to start the season and two, after the start we had to the season. It will definitely be probably a little weird for me over the course of the first couple of weeks and then I’m sure I’ll get bored and pick up a basketball again.”
Clark finished her rookie season averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds, recovering after a slow start both individually and as a team.
The Fever rallied from a 1-8 start to finish 20-20 and claim the No. 6 seed.
Clark averaged 18 points, 8.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds in the two playoff games, including a 25-point effort in Game 2.
“I’m a tough grader. I feel like I had a solid year,” Clark said. “For me, the fun part is like I feel like I’m just scratching the surface and I’m the one that’s nitpicking every single thing I do. I know I want to help this franchise get even better, help my teammates get even better, be better for my teammates and I know there’s a lot of room for me to continue to improve.
“That’s what excites me the most, I feel like I continue to get a lot better.”