What Caitlin Clark learned from first WNBA season and how she’s thinking about 2025

The WNBA playoffs gave Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever “a taste of where we want to be,” Clark said Friday during exit interviews. Moving in the offseason, she’s focused on how to get the Fever a top-four seed going forward.

In the current WNBA playoff format — three-game series in the first round, with a home-home-away format — a top-four seed would guarantee a home playoff game, something Clark and the Fever didn’t get to experience this season after Connecticut swept them.

So what’s next for Clark as she heads into her first break from organized basketball in nearly a year?

The likely Rookie of the Year didn’t get into specifics about what parts of her game she plans to work on this offseason, but did say “as a point guard and a leader, there are lots of areas I can improve on.” She added that she loves hard work and will absolutely want to get into the gym soon.

“I think there are so many ways that I can continue to get better,” Clark said. “That’s what gets you going and gets you fired up. I feel like (at the end) we were really starting to find our groove.”

General manager Lin Dunn and Fever coach Christie Sides agreed with Clark’s assessment, especially when it came to evaluating the play of their star rookie.

Dunn said for all Clark’s college accolades, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft was “underestimated when it came to her speed, strength and quickness.” She was particularly impressed with how well Clark adapted and adjusted to the physicality of the league and, despite a rough 1-8 start for the Fever, said “by the Olympic break, I thought we saw the Caitlin Clark we all thought we would see.”

Dunn added that with Clark leading the charge, and lifting her teammates in the process, she’s thrilled to see the Fever “back on the path to challenge for championships.”

In the immediate, Clark will take some sort of break. Clark acknowledged it’s been a lot to have “everybody always watching your every move,” and said she’s excited to get out of the spotlight for awhile.

During Game 2 Wednesday, ESPN announcers said Clark will not play in the winter, either overseas or, theoretically, in the soon-to-be-launched Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 league created by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. Clark did not confirm her offseason plans immediately after the season-ending loss or on Friday.

She did reflect fondly on some of her favorite moments from the season, including a 78-73 win at Los Angeles early in the season. Clark struggled shooting that game — “I couldn’t buy a basket!” she recalled, laughing — until the final 2:27, when she hit two 3s that helped the Fever pull out the road victory. She was just two assists short of a triple-double that night, a milestone she’d eventually reach twice, the first WNBA rookie to do so.

Demand for that LA-Indiana game was so high it got moved to Crypto.com Arena, home of the Lakers, a building full of basketball history not lost on a hoops junkie like Clark.

For all Clark’s accomplishments on the court this season, it might be moments off the court that stick with her most. In Indiana, the Fever regularly packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse, setting a WNBA attendance record.

“Playing at home in front of these fans, the way these young girls dangle over the side of the rails and are so happy and people (in the stands) are crying,” Clark said. “You understand the impact you’re having on people’s lives and that’s what’s so cool about it.”

Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caitlin Clark is ready for break after record-setting rookie season