A former Iowa Hawkeyes teammate claims Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is dealing with the pressure of having "to be perfect" during her rookie season.
Las Vegas Aces guard Kate Martin, a four-year teammate at Iowa before both entered the WNBA earlier this year, came to Clark's defense on Monday (June 24) while addressing the pressure she's faced.
“Caitlin’s phenomenal, and she’s having a great rookie season. I think people are really hard on her and expecting her to be perfect,” Martin said via the New York Post. “That’s unrealistic, right?”
“She’s a phenomenal person; she’s a phenomenal player,” Martin added. “I’m going to support her through everything.”
Clark has averaged 16.3 points, 6.6 assists and 5.4 rebounds through her first 18 games, though the Fever have struggled with a 7-11 record, which included losing eight of their first 10 games in 2024. The former University of Iowa standout is the all-time leading scorer in NCAA basketball history and her collegiate dominance has led to a significant spike in the popularity of women's basketball.
The Fever have accounted for all of the five most-watched WNBA games since 2002, which includes their June 16 win against the Chicago Sky (1.3 rating and 2.25 million viewers) surpassing Clark's WNBA debut on ESPN2 Opening Night as the league's most-watched game since the 2001 Memorial Day matchup between the Los Angeles Sparks and Houston Comets, which totaled 2.44 million viewers.
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