Fever’ Caitlin Clark shares impact of working with Steph Curry’s trainer

SAN FRANCISCO – With “3-pointer” and “splash” being synonymous with their names, it’s no surprise that Caitlin Clark and Stephen Curry frequently draw comparisons to one another. But for Clark, she’s taking it one step further.

Over the offseason, after a season full of nagging injuries, including a right groin strain that forced her to miss the Indiana Fever’s deep playoff run, Clark was looking for a new way to improve her game.

And as a fan of Curry’s game, particularly his conditioning and off-ball movement, it made sense for Clark to see out the man behind the best 3-point shooter in the game.

“I knew he worked with Steph [Curry], and I love Steph’s game,” Clark explained ahead of the Fever’s showdown with the Golden State Valkyries on the road.

“[It was] mostly [looking for] creative ways to make myself better and to challenge myself. Found a lot of ways to do that this offseason from us working together… What he’s been able to do with Steph, that gives you a lot of confidence in the things that he can maybe bring to me.”

How Payne’s training approach is shaping Caitlin Clark’s offseason growth

Creativity in training is Payne’s specialty. Before the rings and the titles and the MVP trophies, Curry was just a high-promise shooter whose nagging ankle injuries threatened to derail his career.

It was in working with Payne that Curry completely overhauled his workout routine to take the weight off his ankles and strengthen his core. And once Curry could stay healthy, then came the Hall-of-Fame career.

And Curry, who still works with Payne to this day, is infamous for his unbelievable shootaround routines because of how creative he gets with them.

Sometimes it’s having a trainer lobbing a moon ball as high as they can for a catch-and-shoot drill, other times it’s making consecutive triples without the ball touching the rim– Curry likes to turn his workouts into a game. A competition. And that’s something Clark’s picked up on in working with Payne.

“[It was] really [about] challenging my mind,” Clark explained. “It’s not like we’re just sitting there shooting shots. It’s as game-like as we can make it. And I think that was something that I was looking for. Obviously, coming off an injury, it’s really difficult to get those types of reps and things like that. So that was really good for myself.”

That offseason work’s paid dividends so far this year. Clark’s averaging 23.8 points and a league-best 9.0 assists across 5 games this season, helping the Fever to a strong 4-2 start. And Clark has nothing but gratitude to Payne for helping her reorient some of her workout routines.

“I’ve learned a lot, I’ve watched a lot of film with them, and just really thankful for his time,” Clark said. “He’s poured in a lot to me over the course of the offseason, so I’m just really thankful for him. He gave me a different glimpse on a way to work out.”

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