Caitlin Clark appears to quit on Fever coach Christie Sides and ignore her with game on the line

Clark’s body language sent a very clear message

Caitlin Clark dismissed Christie Sides in the final huddleESPN / AP

Whatever Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides was trying to tell her team in the huddle before the final play, down one point against archrival Chicago Sky, Caitlin Clark didn’t want to hear it. The superstar guard shrugged her shoulders and walked away, giving up on winning the game.

Caitlin Clark ignores coach before final shot

Fever fans were not happy. Some were displeased with Clark, while some targeted Sides for blowing a 15-point lead. Others couldn’t believe the Indiana defense allowed Angel Reese to dominate to the tune of 25 points and 16 rebounds in the Sky’s 89-88 victory.

Any trust and good vibes that were built up during Indiana’s preceding four-game win streak seemed long gone when Clark left the huddle while Sides was forming the strategy for a potential game-winning shot with 0.5 seconds remaining and her team down by one point.

On the ESPN broadcast, you could see Sides asking which player had a certain assignment during the timeout. Clark rolled her eyes, dramatically shrugged her shoulders, and appeared to say, “It doesn’t matter.”

The competitive superstar has been captured in moments of tension with teammates, referees and her own coaches during games in the past. One trait that was never in question, though, was her desire to win. Seeing Clark “give up” while her team still had a chance to hit a game-winning shot was a huge red flag to fans that signaled deeper issues.

Fans sound off on Clark-Sides coaching drama

“That attitude right there gets you benched with a winning coach and causes your teammates to not want to play with you,” said a critical fan on social media, aiming shots at both Clark and Sides. “You never give up as long as there’s a tick on the clock.”

“She was saying it doesn’t matter. There’s not enough time to get a shot off, even catch and shoot. The on-air commentators were even saying it,” one of Clark’s fans commented on X, formerly Twitter, defending the No. 1 WNBA Draft pick.

Others shifted the blame, like one user who wrote: “Maybe this was the game she realized some of her teammates just suck and can’t be relied upon in the clutch.”

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Caitlin was dubbed “disrespectful” and a “whiner,” with one basketball fan drawing comparisons to LeBron James‘ dismissive attitude toward former Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham. If something doesn’t change, it could end the same way for Sides as it did for the LA coach in charge of a superstar.

“Think it’s safe to say CC doesn’t respect her coach anymore,” warned one basketball fan. “We all know what happens when that happens

Caitlin Clark needs to shoot more according to Indiana Fever head coach

Clark underperformed in the Fever’s loss to the Seattle Storm on Thursday

Caitlin ClarkLAPRESSE

Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides has urged rookie star Caitlin Clark to be more assertive offensively after a passive performance in Thursday’s loss to the Seattle Storm.

Clark was disappointed with her own performance on Thursday, in which she didn’t shoot the ball from distance, which has been one of her marked strengths since arriving onto the basketball scene in college and then the WNBA.

Caitlin Clark, upset, breaks the silence after losing to Angel Reese in the WNBA

“Caitlin Clark needs to shoot a minimum of 15 shots a game for us,” Sides declared in her post-match interview.

This came after Clark attempted just nine shots in an 89-77 defeat against the Storm, according to ESPN’s own statistics.

“She’s got to get shots, and we’ve got to do a better job of setting her up, setting some really good screens for her to get her open,” Sides continued.

Is this poor performance a one-off?

Clark has had an impressive rookie season, averaging 16.2 points and 6.6 assists per game while attempting 12.2 field goals per game. Despite being defended physically all season, Sides believes more on-ball opportunities for Clark are crucial for the Fever’s success.

Clark’s 12.2 field goal attempts per game rank 22nd in the WNBA this year, the highest among rookies. However, she has only attempted 15 shots once in the past 10 games, despite doing so four times in May. This is a stark contrast to her final season at Iowa, where she averaged 22.7 shots per game.

In the past two games, Clark has been less aggressive than Sides would like. During Thursday’s loss, Clark attempted nine shots, while three other Fever players took more shots. Fellow guard Kelsey Mitchell leads the team with 13.4 shots per game.

In an 88-87 loss to Angel Reese’s Sky on June 23, Clark attempted just one shot in the final seven minutes and three shots in the fourth quarter as the Fever squandered a 15-point third-quarter lead. Clark opted to pass to a teammate rather than take a potential go-ahead shot in the final 20 seconds