INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 18: Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark 22 reaches out to her team mates in the second half of play during a WNBA, Basketball Damen, USA game between the New York Liberty and the Indiana Fever on July 18, 2026 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire WNBA: JUL 18 New York Liberty at Indiana Fever EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon071826035
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 18: Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark 22 reaches out to her team mates in the second half of play during a WNBA, Basketball Damen, USA game between the New York Liberty and the Indiana Fever on July 18, 2026 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire WNBA: JUL 18 New York Liberty at Indiana Fever EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon071826035
Amid Team USA’s victorious 2026 FIBA campaign, former sports journalist Jason Whitlock had some good words about Caitlin Clark.
“She has conducted herself admirably. I hope that continues when she returns to the WNBA,” his X post read on September 10, 2026. “She's playing through contact. It's a joy to watch … The FIBA version of Caitlin is easy to watch and root for.”
Whitlock’s change in tune makes this more newsworthy. The former sports journalist has built quite a reputation as one of Clark’s staunch critics, even going too far to call her a “whinner,” an “emotional train wreck,” even a “laughingstock.”
The Indiana Fever guard is averaging only 8.5 points, 7 assists and 2.8 rebounds across 4 games in Berlin, definitely below her WNBA standards. In the 2nd game, against Italy, she had only 1 point and 1 assist.
Yet her playmaking, fast-paced transition and assists- 11 vs. China, 7 vs. Czechia, 9 vs. Hungary have eased her peers' scoring and anchored the offense. She's absorbed heavy physicality, too. Whitlock couldn’t ignore the impact.
“In FIBA play, no constant nagging of the refs. No head flopping and pretending she's been assaulted,” Whitlock added to the same X post. “It underscores my point about her behavior in the WNBA. Her change in style, FIBA vs. WNBA, should be a story.”
In fact, he believed Clark’s game can elevate even more.
Jason Whitlock's Advice for Caitlin Clark's Growth
The Fever guard has been subjected to heavy on-court physicality, officiating troubles and the Caitlin Clark vs. the world narrative ever since her WNBA entry in 2024. Things haven’t changed much in 3 seasons, but Whitlock detailed how it can.
“The biggest obstacle standing in the way of CC's development is the child-like, do-no-wrong, she's-a-victim conversation on X and YouTube,” his other X post read on September 10, 2026. “She can be the GOAT if she develops and matures.”
“It's harder to mature when (people are) constantly telling (that) you can do no wrong and everybody is out to get you,” he concluded.
It’ll be intriguing to see what more he has to add following Team USA’s semifinal game on September 12.
Written by
Deblina Roy