A rival gives Caitlin Clark the ultimate display of hate during a joyful occasion.

After the Olympics, the Fever won both of their games.

Following a month-long Olympic break, all of the teams returned to the WNBA last Thursday, kicking off its historic season in terms of ratings, retail sales, and arena sellouts. The league-leading New York Liberty (23-4), who have a 9-1 record in their past 10 games, are the only team that has guaranteed a postseason berth, even with roughly 15 games remaining for each team and exactly one month until the regular season ends.

Clark vs. Liberty Bench In yesterday’s dominant 92-75 win by the Indiana Fever (13-15) over the Seattle Storm (17-10), Caitlin Clark once again proved she’s the top contender for the Rookie of the Year award, scoring 23 points and dishing out nine assists. Those nine assists made her the rookie with the most assists in WNBA history, surpassing Ticha Penicheiro, and she still has 12 games left in her season. In the closing moments of the game, there was a brief altercation between the Storm’s bench and Clark when it appeared that Clark was irritating the Storm players by hyping up the home crowd in front of their bench. A Storm player seemed to speed up just to bump into Clark, as seen clearly in the video.

In the closing moments of the game, a teammate had to restrain Clark when she became enraged and was heard telling the Storm bench to “stop crying” following the shove. Though it’s unclear exactly what was said between the two, Clark seems revved up and eager to show that it might not have been a mistake for her to be left off the Olympic squad. She’s refreshed, refocused, and laser-focused after taking her longest sabbatical in over a year. If anyone still needs convincing, she’s determined to prove she’s the genuine deal and the league’s future.

Clark’s Exhibition Thus far
Clark is the third favorite (+8000) for MVP after 28 games this season, behind only Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty and A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces (17-9) in terms of odds. Clark is also the favorite for Rookie of the Year. Her outstanding performance in these first 28 games speaks for itself. Clark won yesterday’s game, her 11th overall and her fourth in a row, with 20 points or more and five assists. She averages 17.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and leads the league in assists (8.3 APG). She also ranks second in minutes played per game (35.2). Though not all of her turnovers are her fault, she leads the WNBA in turnovers, which may be her lone “flaw”.