Caitlin Clark got to work after the Fever’s 91-84 win over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday night.
After most fans cleared out of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Fever rookie got shots up on the court with her boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, as seen in videos on social media.
Clark was working on her midrange shooting and McCaffery — a former member of Iowa’s men’s basketball team and the son of Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery — was rebounding for the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s WNBA draft.
McCaffery currently works as a team assistant for the Indiana Pacers.
Clark was seen working on catch-and-shoot 3s in another video, which showed fans looking on from the stands.
Clark and McCaffery celebrated one year together in April, she shared in a post on Instagram at the time.
The former Iowa product went public with their relationship when she shared photos of the couple on a boat together in August 2023.
McCaffery proudly supported Clark — the NCAA’s Division I all-time leading scorer for men’s and women’s basketball — through March Madness 2024.
The former All-American led the Hawkeyes to the NCAA championship, but Iowa came up short to the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Clark was limited to just seven points in 35 minutes of action in Thursday’s game in Indiana — where Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton sat behind the Fever bench and Joey Chestnut, a 16-time hot dog-eating champion, sat courtside.
She recorded four rebounds and six assists in her first game since she was left off the U.S. Olympic roster.
USA Basketball released the official 12-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics on Tuesday, and selection committee chair Jen Rizzotti explained that the decision came down to basketball criteria and forming the best team to compete for an eighth straight gold medal for the Americans.
“It would be irresponsible for us to talk about her in a way other than how she would impact the play of the team because it wasn’t the purview of our committee to decide how many people would watch or how many people would root for the U.S,” Rizzotti said in a statement. “It was our purview to create the best team we could for [coach] Cheryl [Reeve].”
Many believed Clark should have made the team to attract more viewers and boost marketing at the Paris Games after her celebrity helped break viewing and attendance records and boost revenue at the college and pro level.
Clark, along with the Connecticut Sun’s Brionna Jones — the WNBA Sixth Player of the Year in 2022 — are on top of the alternates list, should Team USA need a replacement, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Monday.
Clark and the Fever (4-10) face Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky (4-7) in Indiana on Sunday.
