Some tension appeared to flare between Caitlin Clark and a WNBA legend Tuesday night, but it seemed to in the spirit of a bit of fun.
During the fourth quarter of the Fever’s 99-89 series-tying Game 2 win over the Aces, Caitlin Clark pulled off an amazing yet daring move to drain a pull-up 3-pointer on four-time MVP and three-time Defensive Player of the Year A’ja Wilson.
It put Indiana up by 11 points and while celebrating the big shot, Clark turned toward the Amazon Prime broadcast table, pointed and appeared to yell, “The f—k you think this was?” toward Candace Parker.
Fellow broadcaster LaChina Robinson quickly asked, “What did she say to you Candace?”
“I don’t know what Caitlin Clark just said but whatever hyped her up,” Parker replied.
“That was a big shot right there.”
It’s not clear what caused Clark to gesture to Parker, yet the two seemed to be in each other’s good graces as the former ran to find the Hall of Famer for a hug after her 27-point, 15-rebound game.
Clark motioned for Parker to come see her and smiled as the two embraced.
She laughed as she appeared to say “I blacked out. I said, ‘F-k you think this was,’” regarding the in-game moment.
The 24-year-old then sat down in the broadcast chair as a headset was put on her.
Parker later whispered something in Clark’s ear, to which the Fever star appeared to reply, “Thank you.”
Initially, some fans speculated Clark’s gesture to Parker was due to early criticisms of the 2024 Rookie of the Year earlier in the game.
During the first quarter after a failed screen, the guard tried to draw a foul off of Aces forward Stephanie Talbot at the top of the arc, lowering her shoulder and bumping into her while throwing the ball in the air.
Yet no whistle was blown and Wilson quickly passed the ball off to Chelsea Gray, who sent it to a running Jackie Young up the court.
As the third-seeded Aces moved in transition, Clark had her hands up in disbelief, pleading to officials about the non-call.
Young went on to drive to the basket for the two points as Clark left Kelsey Mitchell to defend on her own.
After the basket, Clark still had her hands up, appealing for the call.
The sequence rubbed Parker the wrong way.
“You’ve got to get back on defense, Caitlin. This is the playoffs,” said the former two-time MVP.
“Baskets matter,” she went on. “You can talk to the refs after the game, but you have to get back and stop the run. This is what Vegas depends on, live ball turnovers and long rebounds.”
Clark is known to argue calls in the WNBA, as she nearly was slapped with an automatic suspension after coming up just one technical foul shy of the limit (seven) during the regular season.
She also picked up her first tech of the postseason in the second quarter after an offensive foul on Aces’ Mai Yamamoto Tuesday.
Clark averaged 22.3 points and 8.3 assists on 44.5 percent shooting during the regular season to earn her third All-Star spot in three seasons.
The Fever have made playoff appearances in each of their years with Clark, who will try to push Indiana past the semifinals after falling to the Aces a year ago to fall short of a Finals berth.
The series shifts to Las Vegas for Game 3 on Thursday night.
