Caitlin Clark returns smiling, healthy at USA Basketball camp

DURHAM, N.C. — Caitlin Clark caught an inbound pass on the K Center court and pointed to her defender. Kiki Iriafen stepped in with a screen and Clark burst past it, streaking upcourt in a five-on-five against a squad of male practice players. A defender finally matched her stride near the 3-point line. Clark pounded the dribble, slid sideways and — as she’s done so many times on so many highlight reels — launched into a step-back that created more than enough space at the 3-point line.

“Oh, got you!” Duke assistant coach Tia Jackson shouted from the sideline.

The shot arced high and true. Swish.

“I see you, Caitlin!” Jackson yelled, clapping as Clark exhaled, jogged off the court and slapped hands with teammates and coaches.

It was a sequence Clark had long been waiting to feel again — almost five months after her last WNBA game July 15 and a cascade of injuries. The Indiana Fever guard and former two-time Naismith Trophy winner at Iowa had more than 200 straight appearances, dating back to high school. But 2025 brought a left quad strain, then dual groin injuries, then a bone bruise in her left ankle during rehab — ultimately sidelining her for the Fever’s run to the WNBA semifinals.

For someone who rarely feels rattled on a basketball court, returning to action at Team USA camp brought something unfamiliar.

“I was a little nervous,” Clark said. “Not because anything [health-related], but just because I haven’t been out here in a while. So it was certainly fun to lace them up and be in a competitive practice.”

This week marks Clark’s first senior national team camp. She’s one of 10 players, including the likes of Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers, making their debuts this weekend. And even after months away from organized basketball, Team USA head coach Kara Lawson said Clark looked “good on both ends.”

“I thought that she hadn’t missed the beat,” Lawson said.

Clark was a bit more critical.

“Obviously I need to knock off a little bit of rust, get my lungs back, but my body feels really good,” Clark said. “I feel like I’m in a really good spot. So main goal is just staying that way.”

Clark had been playing pickup and working out, but this environment was different. And “really fun.” On Friday, Clark was sprinting through offensive sets, firing step-backs and sidesteps. She was working alongside veterans like two-time Olympic gold medalists Kelsey Plum and Chelsea Gray, who no doubt were chirping bits of advice in her ear.

After varied five-on-five sets, Clark rotated into a one-on-one station with Plum, Gray and Bueckers. Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts and a group of practice players defended as each star worked through isolation reps. Soon, a string of Clark’s attempts rimmed out. She missed again. And again.

“Short! Short. Short. Short,” she muttered, adding an expletive under her breath as yet another front-rimmed.

She shook out her wrist, circling it in the air before taking another attempt. Finally — after missing four or five straight, which likely felt like an eternity for Clark — the ball dropped cleanly through the net. Gray reached out for a high-five. Clark managed a smile, though she grimaced again by the time she returned to the back of the line.

When the drill shifted, Clark paced, head down, talking to herself lightly, half-laughing.

Clark said that while she’s back at “100 percent” physically, her focus Friday was simple: Rediscover joy.

“I was thinking about it last night, and my main goal for today was just smile and have fun,” she said. “You take for granted getting to play basketball. You always say that you don’t want to, but then when you get hurt, you realize you probably did. And for myself, obviously the year was pretty challenging, right?”

Clark said she’s also enjoyed being reunited with peers she’d grown up playing with and against in the USA Basketball system. Clark’s experienced both ends of the USA Basketball pipeline — making three junior teams and being cut from others — and said she’s approaching this Olympic-cycle reset with gratitude.

“I missed being on the court and playing,” Clark said. “Like, I would’ve taken 10 bad games in a row just to be out there and playing because that’s how much I love it and love competing for my teammates. So for me to be here and feel like I’m playing well, being healthy — that makes me smile more than anything.”

Clark, players speak on CBA negotiations

Ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations between the WNBA and its players loom large as the league approaches a pivotal offseason. On Friday, Clark called it “the biggest moment” in league history. She said players will “fight for everything we deserve,” but also stressed the need for compromise to avoid a work stoppage.

“That’s what our fans crave — the product on the floor,” Clark said. “That’s what the fans want to show up for. It’s business, and it’s a negotiation, and there has to be compromise on both sides. We’re starting to get down to the wire of it.”

Clark said she’s leaning on Indiana Fever teammates Lexie Hull and Aliyah Boston (also at training camp) — the team’s union player representatives — as well as union treasurer Brianna Turner — to better understand the details of the negotiations.

The WNBA and its players association agreed to a second extension of the current CBA, which is now set to expire Jan. 9. A work stoppage could occur if players strike or owners lock out the players.

“We can find ways to say, ‘No, we certainly deserve that, and we’re not going to compromise on that,’ and then other things that we can probably compromise on,” Clark said. “You want to understand both sides and be respectful of both sides. But at the end of the day, come to a compromise.”

Plum, first vice president of the WNBPA, said at camp on Friday that CBA talks have been “a little bit disheartening” and there’s “frustration in the negotiation and how far away we are.”

“What I’m proud of is that we play with a group of women that are united,” Plum said, “and we’re standing on something.”