What is one thing the greats have in common? Hard work. “Once you know what failure feels like, determination chases success.” No one embodied hard work in the basketball world as much as Kobe Bryant, and it seems like Caitlin Clark is headed in the right direction as well! Repping some Kobe Protos isn’t the only thing she has in common with the Black Mamba, her attitude is that of a champion.

After last year’s first-round exit, the Indiana Fever star got to work immediately. She opted out of playing in the 3×3 Unrivaled league, even though the financial opportunity was lucrative. She instead focused on her craft. Birthday wasn’t spared, either. You have seen the clips that continued to surface– spot-up threes, skill work, and strength and conditioning. There was nothing she skipped out on! 6 Months. That’s how long she admittedly remained consistent.

Now, if she has pulled that off, hear from Lexie Hull what impact it is yielding. The league better be ready for what’s to come. “[This year] there is this different aura about it,” she told ESPN. “That she’s here and she’s ready to take care of business.”

After the physicality got the better of her in her rookie season, Clark was determined to pour her focus into getting stronger. She did not have that luxury when she was transitioning to the pros from her college season, so she maximised on it. “It’s going to help me offensively, it’s going to help me defensively, it’s going to help me not get as tired throughout games,” the 2024 ROTY says of her training. But if you think strengthening is all that she had in her books over the offseason, think again. Because Stephanie White came in with a vision for the Fever and Clark, and she wasn’t going to be sleeping on it.

The HC worked with player development coach Keith Porter to expand Clark’s game, and now the 23-year-old has more than 3-pointers and no-look passes in her skillset. The mid-rangers, the floaters, and the unpredictable finishes– the coaching staff has it all covered. White even wants her to focus on off-ball movements, screening, and being on the move. The coach, having been on the other side last season, had a different perspective for Clark than she had known. White wanted to challenge her with all the inputs she had, and the star guard complied. She chose to forego any off-season league, trained, practiced, and built confidence unlike before.

In a conversation with ESPN, the Indiana Fever star got candid about the same. “That’s where I’m going to find my confidence coming into this next season,” she said, “is just knowing I’ve been consistent and whether it’s been the weight room, whether it’s been my skill development, my shooting.”

To see her possess such self-discipline is a point of wonder. Caitlin Clark is not a small name by any means, and the fact that she is grounded enough to work on her craft even after a successful first year means she has the tools to be truly great. But how did the Fever staff react to such a transformation?

Indiana Fever staff wowed by Caitlin Clark’s incredible transformation

We’ve all seen the photo. You know what I’m talking about. Caitlin Clark cheering on the Hawkeyes and looking yoked beyond belief. There’s no doubt that the Fever star put in some good work this off-season. It reminded us of the time Michael Jordan bulked up to finally beat the Jordan Rules after the late 80s. Clark, hungry for success, seems fully locked and loaded for this upcoming WNBA season.

But have the coaches said anything? Well, Stephanie White certainly has! Indiana’s newest head coach praised the six-foot-tall guard and her progress. “She is stronger, first and foremost. She’s got a lot of self-awareness, and she figured out right away that ‘I need to get stronger, I can’t get knocked around as much.” White said to the Athletic.

The Fever HC went on to praise how dedicated Caitlin Clark has been with her weight-training, and how her strength sky-rocketed. At that height, keeping a low center of gravity, and putting in the reps is tough. But CC never backs down! However, White did point out an aspect that she wants Clark to improve on.

“I think the next step is efficiency,” She said. “Not so many turnovers, higher field goal percentages.” Which is a fair, but nitpicky point. Caitlin Clark isn’t quite part of the 50/40/90 club, but she’s close. Not to mention, she took a huge jump this off-season in efficiency.

In her rookie year, Clark shot 41% from the field, 34% from deep, and 90% from the free-throw line. Astonishingly, she managed to bring up her FG% to 52, and her three-point percentage to a whopping 50%! If the graph keeps going on upwards, there’s only success written for the Fever star.