After barely playing in the 2025 WNBA season, Caitlin Clark was back playing 5 on 5 basketball for the first time since mid-July. She has been hampered by multiple soft tissue injuries, which were capped by the bone bruise that ended her season. At the Team USA camp, Clark declared that she’s at 100% and is just working to get her lungs back and knock the rust off. However, that goal faced an obstacle as Clark was met with an old foe: physicality.

Caitlin Clark has been the subject of multiple aggressive and overtly physical plays over the course of her WNBA career. As a rookie, more than 17% of flagrant fouls were on the point guard. To go, Clark often showed frustration at the referees and even protested from the bench when she was injured.

As Clark returned to the court with full intensity, both of these tendencies appeared at the Team USA camp.

“You saw some situations where, like Caitlin’s stuck guarding Kelsey and Kelsey’s knocking her off the ball, and Caitlin gets called for a foul.” Sabreena Merchant revealed on No Offseason: The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show. “She starts yelling at the refs like she’s grabbing me, and all of the coaches from WNBA teams who were sitting there watching are just cracking up.”

It’s no secret that physicality has been the go-to solution to the Caitlin Clark problem. She had the highest usage rate (26.1%) as a rookie on the Indiana Fever. Disrupt the brain of the operation, and the opponents have an easier time dealing with the Fever.

Caitlin Clark, being the aggressive and passionate player that she is, often approached referees regarding fouls that went uncalled. Clark often had multiple interactions with referees, earning a reputation. Clark would have to be careful regarding that habit when playing for Team USA.

“FIBA is naturally just a lot more physical than other levels of basketball. even more physical than the WNBA, which is something to be said considering all the conversations we had about that level of physicality during this 2025 season,” Merchant further said.

“So, having to see Caitlin go at scouting players who were instructed to play at a FIBA level of physicality was interesting considering how long she’s been out and the fact that she’s still ramping up injury-wise, but she looked good.”

Coming back from some severe injuries, Clark would be mindful while ramping up to full intensity. In addition, her defense, especially against Plum, was left wanting. Her offensive play looked smooth to most as she effortlessly drained her trademark threes and paired with the likes of Aliyah Boston, but when playing with other centers and forwards, there are some issues to be ironed out. 

Caitlin Clark Needs More Reps With Team USA

After her inclusion at the recent camp, it’s clear Caitlin Clark is in the scheme of things for the Qualifying tournament in March, potentially for the World Cup in September, and very likely for the 2028 Olympics. She is arguably the best primary initiator in the league and would definitely improve this squad. We can potentially have Bueckers and Clark playing together. However, there is still some time to smooth the connection with other Team USA stars, especially forwards. 

“She looked like Caitlin, right? Like the step back three was there. Passes were there. When she was not playing with Aaliyah Boston, some of the bigs didn’t know what to do with her passes.” Merchant said. “Like, there was one time where she passed it to Hamby, and Hamby, like, brought the ball down. It’s like you can’t do that.”

Clark was the best passer at the 18-woman camp. Some are just not used to such pinpoint passes at that velocity and finishing them around the rim. To put it simply, the Indiana Fever star is just too good at times. The Clark-Boston connection has flourished over the years, which shows that Clark can help other forwards improve.  

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This camp did not have stars like A’ja Wilson and Napheesa Collier, who will probably return for the World Cup or the Qualifiers. Clark’s immediate inclusion in the team will also depend on how she fits with them. With every player at an elite level, it won’t take much time to adapt to each other’s pace. That will only happen with more practice. That synergy is not there yet.