Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark. Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Caitlin Clark's offseason plans differ from most of her peers

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Sep 26, 2024 8:39 AM ET

For most WNBA players, the end of the season doesn't mean the end of the basketball year. Some of the league's biggest stars, including Kelsey Plum and Breanna Stewart, have chosen to play in European and Chinese leagues after completing their commitments to their respective WNBA teams in recent years.

However, Caitlin Clark won't be taking that route. After Indiana was eliminated from the playoffs on Wednesday, the sharpshooter revealed her offseason plans, and it doesn't involve any pro basketball.

"I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow. I don't know what I'm going to do the next day," Clark said, via Chloe Peterson of The Indianapolis Star. "Maybe play some golf? I think that's what I'm going to do until it gets too cold in Indiana. So I'll have to become a professional golfer."

At this point, Fever center Aliyah Boston chimed in, urging her teammate to "keep it to basketball."

Clark's decision to forego all basketball in the offseason means fans won't get to watch her in action again for at least 200 days until the 2025 WNBA season kicks off next May. The extended wait will surely drive up anticipation for her sophomore season, which could potentially work in the WNBA's favor.

Despite her season-ending loss on Wednesday, Clark has every reason to sit back and raise a toast to a remarkable rookie campaign that saw her break a plethora of records. Even in her final outing, Clark rewrote the history books by becoming the first rookie to log a stat line of 25 points, five rebounds and five assists in the playoffs, and the youngest to record such a game. Furthermore, she became the first rookie since Michael Jordan in NBA/WNBA history to reach those numbers in the postseason.

Clark's rookie year will also heighten expectations from Fever entering next season. In Clark, Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, the Fever have a budding Big 3 that could make them a legitimate title contender soon.

Indiana could also address issues with its perimeter defense and rebounding in free agency, and give its three stars a better shot at competing with juggernauts such as Aces, Liberty and Sun.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

More must-reads: