How Caitlin Clark strengthened her Team USA case for 2026

Jeremy Beren

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How Caitlin Clark strengthened her Team USA case for 2026 image

Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It sounds as if Caitlin Clark's first training camp with the United States national team went pretty well.

Last weekend, Clark was in Durham, N.C., for a three-day USA Basketball camp. The Indiana Fever superstar was one of 18 players chosen to work under national team head coach Kara Lawson, who will be leading the Americans in September's FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Germany.

Clark was watched especially closely, given her fame and the fact that she missed most of the 2025 WNBA season through injury. And according to The Athletic's Sabreena Merchant, Clark looked like herself again.

"The step back (3-pointer) was there, the passes were there," Merchant said on the No Offseason podcast. "When she wasn’t playing with Aliyah Boston, some of the bigs didn’t know what to do with her passes. There was one time where she passed it to (Dearica) Hamby, and Hamby brought the ball down, you can't do that."

Though fans were left feeling anxious and upset at the Fever's cautious approach to Clark's injuries last season, Indiana always prioritized Clark's long-term outlook over a single postseason run in 2025.

The early returns say the Fever's approach paid off. Indiana reached the WNBA semifinals without Clark, and Clark herself appears close to her explosive best entering 2026.

The upcoming year may well be the most important of Clark's career: her USA Basketball debut is a distinct possibility, and the Fever look set to enter a lengthy period of WNBA championship contention.

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