Fever’s Caitlin Clark discusses challenge of giving herself grace amid superstardom: ‘I want to be the best’

Caitlin Clark has 3.6 million followers on Instagram. She’s a household name. At Iowa, she became the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, after all. And her transcendence has helped transform the WNBA, where she’s already a two-time All-Star and a league icon as a superstar guard for the Indiana Fever.

But with that spotlight comes intense scrutiny.

In the lead-up to her third season in the W, the 24-year-old Clark was asked Tuesday about handling the pressure that comes with the constant examination of her every move and, more specifically, about how she’s learned to give herself grace as she navigates that life.

“It’s definitely easier said than done,” Clark said. “I think people forget that, at the end of the day, I care more than all of you. I want to be the best.

“I’m always analyzing my play. I’m always trying to find ways to be better. And so I think just that part of it. I can always say allow myself grace, but you always have that fire and that hunger inside of you to always want to be better, and you’re a perfectionist, and then you get irritated when it doesn’t go your way.”

Clark added: “But at the same time, I think that’s what the great thing about the W is it’s game-to-game-to-game. You’re going to play three or four games a week, and you always have an opportunity to turn the page and move on to the next one. So just reminding myself of that and then obviously reminding myself how lucky I am to just be out there and be playing.”

Clark wasn’t out there much last year, as she was limited to only 13 appearances during a 2025 campaign that saw her Fever author their first winning season since 2015 and push the eventual WNBA champion Las Vegas to five games in the semifinals of the playoffs.

She battled a left quad sprain, a left groin sprain and a right groin injury that ultimately kept her out throughout the back half of the season. Plus, she reportedly sustained a bone bruise in her left ankle while rehabbing last August.

This preseason, she had an injury scare concerning her left knee.

Injuries weren’t an issue for Clark during her illustrious Iowa career, and they didn’t interfere with her WNBA Rookie of the Year campaign in 2024. Recently, however, they’ve been the focus of the Clark chatter. She’s hoping to put those midseason interruptions in the rear-view mirror with a bounce-back Year 3 in the W, which notably has a new CBA.

With players making more money than before, and all 44 of the Fevers’ regular-season games being broadcast nationally, Clark will face likely another uptick in attention.

While she does so, she’ll keep trying to find the balance between pushing herself and practicing self-compassion.

As she said, though, it’s easier said than done, especially considering her drive to be the best.