Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark had a very unexpected reaction to making WNBA history on Saturday.
Clark said she wanted there to be much, much less cheering for her achievement.
Speaking with reporters after her team’s huge 83-78 victory over the New York Liberty at home, Clark said that after she became the first WNBA rookie to ever record a triple-double in a game, she tried to get the cheering crowd to quiet down so that one of her teammates could shoot a free throw.
“Well, I was trying to get the crowd to be quiet because I think it was Aliyah was shooting a free throw, somebody was shooting a free throw,” Clark said with a smile, per Clutch Points reporter Matthew Byrne. “I was like, I appreciate it, but [I was] just trying to get them to be quiet.”
Caitlin Clark on her mindset when she got the triple-double, and if the crowd tipped her off: “Well, I was trying to get the crowd to be quiet because I think Aliyah was shooting a free throw… like I appreciate it, but just trying to get them to be quiet.”
Full clip: pic.twitter.com/NPNXfuu8HE
— Matthew Byrne (@MatthewByrne1) July 6, 2024
She also said with a laugh that her teammates might’ve been a bit confused as to why the Fever crowd went wild for her pulling down the rebound that cemented the triple-double without immediate context, which is also just delightful to think about.
Of course, Clark delivered a very classy message to fans after making WNBA history and beating the Liberty on the same day, but it’s pretty funny to hear how she was trying to process the moment as it was happening in real time.
You just never know when you might achieve history and what might follow, after all.
