Caitlin Clark shuts down media noise as shooting slump prompts fans to ask ‘what’s wrong with her?’

Caitlin Clark’s struggles continue.

The Indiana Fever guard just cannot seem to find any form of consistent shooting rhythm in the 2026 WNBA season – her third in the league.

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In Saturday night’s 83-75 defeat to the New York Liberty, Clark mustered just 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field, while her difficulties from behind the three-point line also continued, shooting 2-of-6.

In fact, she finished just one miss shy of matching her worst shooting performance of her entire WNBA career, which came when she shot just 3-of-14 against the Golden State Valkyries in the 2025 campaign.

The 24-year-old did, however, also register seven rebounds, a game-high nine assists, and a block, showcasing that even when her shots aren’t necessarily going down, she finds ways for her teammates to get open looks at the basket.

It was a poor outing as a whole for the Fever, who led by as many as 12 points in the second half before suffering a disastrous collapse, and recording 14 turnovers in the game.

But the reality is, Indiana’s leading talisman has not showed up often enough, apart from when she was sick.

In her last four outings, Clark has scored just 49 total points averaging just 25.8 percent from the field during that span, vastly below her career-average of 40 percent, which has some fans debating why.

“No agendas. No jokes. Seriously asking. What’s wrong with her?” former TMZ co-host Van Lathan Jr wrote on X on Saturday night.

This prompted a plethora of responses that proposed different reasons as to why Clark hasn’t necessarily made the strides in development that many had expected.

“She hasn’t gotten better since college is the problem. Imo when i watch her i dont see someone whos improved she does all the same stuff and that was effective when she got to the WNBA but now its been two seasons they’ve scouted her and she hasn’t added anything. Shes not stronger faster quicker or added anything so even the things she used to he great at she isnt anymore,” one user wrote.

“She’s terrible on defense & the league has figured her out. No mid-range game, no counter moves, no reliable lay-up package. Shooting 37.7% from the field while leading THE W in turnovers. It’s bad ,” a second added.

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“She just can’t shoot. From anywhere. This isn’t college. The sample size is big enough now. Doesn’t dribble well, and turns the ball over historically bad. Volume scorer and assists. Still overall a good pro, but that’s it,” a third weighed in.

“The injuries last year made it a waste of a season & stunted her development. She’s the same player she was when she came into the league and they’re exploiting her weakness on defense and with ball security. Since she only plays in the W, she hasn’t had on court time to improve,” a fourth added.

Clark fires back at media who continue to fuel fire

But, there is also a case to be made that Clark’s on-court performances are somewhat being impacted by the narrative created by the media that the former No. 1 overall WNBA Draft pick is somewhat ‘uncoachable.’

This stems back to a viral video clip taken from a fan in the stands from the Fever’s 100-84 defeat to the Portland Fire back in May that showed Clark erupting at coach Stephanie White during a timeout.

While both parties played down any internal feud, it is an interaction which appears to have dominated the coverage around the Clark and the Fever ever since.

On Saturday night, Clark was asked yet again about how she has handled those rumors that continue to ring around the WNBA, where she admitted that it doesn’t seep into the locker room.

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“I don’t really know why we’re still on this. We talked about it, and I think especially for our team, we didn’t blatantly sit there and talk about everything you guys were writing and what’s in the media,” Clark said to reporters postgame.

“We were just talking about how we can be better as a team. Me and Steph are good. We have each other’s backs more than anybody, and I have my teammates’ backs more than anybody.

“And just emphasizing that we don’t want that [negative noise from the media] coming into our locker room, what everybody wants to write and what everybody wants to say because those opinions don’t matter.

“Opinions matter about what we think of each other and what you think of your teammates, and how you’re going to go to bat for each other.

“I think the best thing we did was come out and respond on Thursday. We played a great basketball game. But the reason we played great was because we played for the person to our left and to our right, and that’s why we dominated the game.

“I think if we continue to do that, it will allow us a lot of success.”

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