“Not a real basketball player if…”: Caitlin Clark remains optimistic after shock of ankle injury vs. dream

Caitlin Clark had another impressive performance, leading the Indiana Fever to victory over the Atlanta Fever. Aside from her 19-point, 7-rebound, and 7-assist performance, Clark also made headlines for taking a fall early in the game. When the rookie spoke about the injury scare, she gave her fans a lot of relief by joking about it.

During the 3-10 victory in the first quarter, Clark sprained her left ankle while playing defense. She fell heavily and lay on the floor in pain for quite some time. The 22-year-old's teammates also had to help her get back to the bench.

However, the injury was not serious enough to keep her out for a long time. The rookie made it back to the field in the next quarter after taping. Clark's comment about the injury scare attracted more attention than the fall itself. During the post-game press conference, the sharpshooter poked fun at herself for looking “soft.”

“I saw the replay and I look really weak. It wasn't that bad of a turn, but it hurt.” said Clark jokingly.

She admitted that the slight ankle sprain hurt for a while, but she was eventually fit enough to play for 37 minutes that evening.

“Sometimes you just have to take a second. When you sprain your ankle, it just stings a little bit. So I was happy, they said, “Do you want to go to the back?” I said, “No, please, just pick up here, let's go. We have to move on, move on with the game.” Clark revealed it.

The former Hawkeye continued to joke, concluding by claiming that all basketball players suffered from multiple sprained ankles.

“You’re not a real basketball player unless you’ve sprained your ankle many times,” said the 6'1″ security guard.

Clark is not wrong in her assessment. Sprained ankles and jammed fingers are among the most common injuries among basketball players. Fortunately, this injury was not so serious that she was out of action for the entire competition.

Any injury to the 2024 Rookie of the Year candidate can have a massive impact on the Fever. So far, the Indiana team is having a great season. Thanks to the invaluable contributions of Caitlin Clark (18 points, 8.2 assists and 5.8 rebounds), the franchise is 7^th in the standings with an impressive record of 14-16, just 1.5 games behind the Phoenix Mercury.

With the Fever having one of the easiest remaining schedules in the league, the team is on track to end its playoff drought and qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2016.