During the Indiana Fever‘s blowout win against the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday (July 22), Caitlin Clark picked up her seventh technical foul of the season.
Clark is now one technical away from receiving an automatic one-game suspension.
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With the Fever leading 95-67 late in the third quarter, Clark was being defended by Sun guard Saniya Rivers when she dribbled across the top of the key and drew a reach-in foul on Olivia Nelson-Ododa.
As Clark tossed the ball to an official, Rivers gestured toward her and the two began exchanging words.
“She said she was locking me up, so I said, ‘Scoreboard,’ and the ref didn’t like that,” Clark told reporters after the game, via ESPN. “I’m never going to back down. I think just continue to try to control your emotions the best you can. That intensity and that fire is what makes me me, but also knowing my team needs me and finding a good balance of that. But I don’t think I’m going to be playing with that in the back of my head.”
Clark’s seven technicals are tied for the most in the WNBA with Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese. Clark has 15 technicals in her career, the second most in a player’s first three seasons in league history behind Reese’s 19.
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Clark was the first pick in the 2024 draft, while Reese was the seventh pick.
During her postgame media session, Fever head coach Stephanie White didn’t seem too concerned about Clark losing her cool.
“Anybody who thinks that I have a plan to be strategic about technical fouls is crazy,” White said. “I mean, look, she’s just got to pick and choose, right? She’s got to pick and choose, and it’s every two after that. So I think the biggest thing is she knows, she has awareness about it. We’ll try to help her when we can, but sometimes we can’t. And if she wants to be strategic about which game she doesn’t want to play, then she’ll let her fly.”
The Fever improved to 17-10 on the season after beating the Sun. They are in first place in the Eastern Conference standings.
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Clark has appeared in 23 games this season. She’s averaging 21.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game while shooting 43.5% from the field, 34.5% from beyond the arc and 86.4% from the free-throw line.
The 2024 Rookie of the Year, Clark will play in the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago. She missed the All-Star Game last year in Indiana because of an injury.
Alexa Philippou of ESPN believes Clark will win the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game MVP.
“Clark looked like she had fun watching from the sidelines of last year’s All-Star Game, but not being able to take the floor with the competition being held in Indianapolis had to have hurt,” Philippou wrote. “She’ll be eager to make the most of the experience this year in Chicago and will add to the recent pattern (Napheesa Collier in 2025 notwithstanding) of guards taking home All-Star Game MVP.”
