WNBA Coach Calls Out Caitlin Clark, Suggests Blueprint for Stopping Fever Star

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Max Dible | Last updated Jun 21, 2025 12:07 PM ET

The Indiana Fever fell one win shy of claiming the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup, losing to the Golden State Valkyries in the finals -- the league's newest expansion team that began play this season.

Golden State bested Indiana by 11 points, 88-77, at Chase Center in San Francisco on Thursday, June 19. The Valkyries held Fever point guard Caitlin Clark to a subdued output, particularly considering her personal standard.

Clark finished the night with 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting, including 0-of-7 from behind the 3-point line, nine assists, seven rebounds and one steal. Clark turned the basketball over six times and finished the game as a minus-10 in 34 minutes of court time. Indiana fell to 6-6 on the season following the loss.

Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase called out what she described as Clark's aversion to physicality when speaking with reporters on how to attack the star point guard defensively.

“We were being disruptive, we know she doesn’t like physicality. And we know she wants to get back to that left stepback... I watched her in Iowa. She loves that left [stepback]."

Natalie Nakase on the Valkyries slowing down Caitlin Clark

(via @kenzofuku) pic.twitter.com/gSOTi5ir8Y
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 21, 2025

“We were being disruptive. We know she doesn’t like physicality, and we know she wants to get back to that left step-back," Nakase said, per the ClutchPoints X account. "I watched her in Iowa. She loves that left [step-back]."

Taking a physical approach with Clark isn't a novel concept across the WNBA. Several teams have tried to bully the the 6-foot, 157-pound guard since she entered the league last year.

And while they have had some success in that regard, Clark still won Rookie of the Year honors and was one of just five players in the league to make the All-WNBA First-Team in 2024.

Clark worked on getting stronger over the offseason, which is clearly visible in her physique this year. She missed multiple games earlier in the campaign with a quad strain, but is averaging 19.9 points, 8.7 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals on the season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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