Team USA won against Spain 76-66 on Saturday's FIBA World Cup semifinals and advanced to the finals. However, one analyst pointed to Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clarks limited playing time as "evidence" of a bias against her.

WNBA analyst Jamie Lardis posted on X after the game, accusing the team of intentionally trying to minimize Clark’s impact on the USA’s FIBA World Cup journey and making her seem like an unreliable player.

“Today’s game is clear evidence that there’s an agenda being pushed with Caitlin Clark. Why the hell is she barely playing?” Lardis wrote. “She’s been one of the best players on this team. At this point, it feels like they’re doing everything they can to limit her impact and make her look bad.”

Lardis called Clark one of the best players on the team due to her standout season in the league. Clark, whose 2025 season was limited by a series of injuries, made a stunning comeback in 2026.

She set several records and even earned All-Star Captain honors in the WNBA 2026 season. However, her performance in the FIBA games has been less than impressive.

Despite starting strong with 14 points and 11 assists in the USA’s first game where she played for 25 minutes and 19 seconds, she was limited to just 1 point against Italy in 18.5 minutes, per the official FIBA website. 

Although the Fever star managed to score 9 points in 22 minutes against Czechia, her production dropped back to just 1 point in the semi-finals, where she played for just under 17 minutes.

As the games progress, the amount of time she plays on the court seems to be getting shorter. Interestingly, her production seemed to be directly proportional to the time she spent on the court.

Thus, Lardis felt that the low production was due to the limited time she has been getting on the court. She categorized it as an “agenda” similar to the one that kept Clark out of the 2024 Summer Olympics.

However, one radio personality argued that WNBA controversies should not become the standard for judging the national team’s rostering decisions.

Craig Carton speaks out on Team USA’s decision to bench Caitlin Clark

In the September 11 episode of The Craig Carton Show, Carton presented his take on the Clark controversy. While he admitted that the WNBA does sideline Clark whenever possible, he believed that the same did not apply to the Team USA roster.

He pointed out that Clark wasn’t the only young talent on the team who had missed out on the opportunity to start games for the USA.

Fever center Aliyah Boston, Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers and Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese were also in the same situation.

“Caitlin Clark was not benched by Team USA. She hasn't started a single game for Team USA. And oh, by the way, neither is Paige Bueckers, nor is Angel Reese because the coach decided that she wants to play the old heads, you know, the veteran players, and then bring the young studs off the bench,” Carton pointed out.

Carton went on to say that when it came to international tournaments, the focus should always be on the team as a whole, not an individual player. 

He further insisted that although head coach Kara Lawson’s decision to start with veterans has been criticized, what matters is that Team USA has continued to win with their current opening lineup, moving forward in the 2026 FIBA World Cup tournament.

Written by

Arundhoti Palit