After narrowly surpassing Italy on Sunday at the 2026 FIBA World Cup, Caitlin Clark emerged from the game with zero field goals for the first time in her career. The disastrous performance from the WNBA star was surprising, especially after Clark set the record for most assists by a World Cup debutant, with 11 against China. When the basketball world’s voice turned unfavorable to Clark, WNBA legend Tina Charles came in her defense.
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“I think it’s a little bit unfair to isolate Caitlin Clark from Team USA,” Charles said in conversation with TNT Sports before the group stage game against Czechia.
“Caitlin Clark had rhythm in the first game, so did Team USA. Caitlin Clark struggled to find that rhythm, and so did Team USA.”
It was not just Clark who struggled against Italy. The entire cast of the USA team crumbled under the defensive pressure from Italy. Jackie Young led her team with 1o points, and she was the only player from Team USA to have scored in double digits, and they registered their lowest total in 42 years, scoring just 55 points.
Perhaps the most surprising part of the stat sheet was her assist numbers. The Indiana Fever star had just one assist in 18 minutes, an unusual stat from a player who leads the WNBA in assists this season. Charles suggested that Caitlin Clark not limit her game and explore options when one area didn’t work.
“I think the lesson for Team USA and Caitlin Clark is, ‘Okay, what I’m used to doing is not available, or I’m not able to do that. What is the second thing I’m going to do to impact this game? Like, what am I going to do during this possession? What does this possession need from me?”
One of the reasons that Caitlin Clark had just one assist was because of the terrible offense the Americans played. They shot 28.6% from the field and 8.3% from beyond the arc. Italy played fast and switched to zone defense in the first quarter and kept it going throughout the game. The Americans crumbled under the weight of Italy’s defense.
However, according to Team USA coach Kara Lawson, they didn’t lose simply because they had a bad shooting night. After the game, she called out the lack of “passion” that her team had displayed on the international stage and made sure to remind her team about it.
“Let this be the last time that a team plays with more passion than us throughout the course of the game. Your contribution is not limited to how well you score the ball. Your contribution has to be your effort, your passion, your energy, your intensity that you play with.“
“We gotta be the hardest-playing team in this tournament. We will not win on our talent, even though our talent is awesome. But we will not win on it,” she said in the locker room.
Italians were faster and played with more passion on both ends. Although Team USA came out with a 55-52 win, it was their struggle that became the bigger storyline, and Lawson was also at the receiving end of criticism. She has some of the best coaches in the WNBA working alongside her as assistant coaches, including Natalie Nakase, Jose Fernandez, Stephanie White, and Nathan Tibbetts.
The post-game report presented an interesting analysis. The Americans were +10 plus/minus with the lineup featuring Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Angel Reese. Surprisingly, Lawson played with the lineup for just over five minutes in the game.
Credit to the veteran that they held their grip on the game in the last minutes of the contest. However, this won’t be a mistake that the Americans can afford for the second time in this tournament. They are already in the quarterfinals, featuring all the group winners.