Connect with us
DAPA Banner

Sports

Caitlin Clark returns to top of basketball world

Published

on

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Caitlin Clark appeared to be back on top of her game after missing most of the 2025 season with injuries.

Clark played for Team USA in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup qualifying tournament this month, and on Tuesday, she was named the MVP.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Advertisement
Caitlin Clark at the free-throw line

Caitlin Clark of USA prepares to take a free throw during the Women’s World Cup 2026 Qualifier between Puerto Rico and USA at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot on March 12, 2026 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Alexa Alejandro/FIBA via Getty Images)

The Indiana Fever star, who was making her debut with the senior team, averaged 11.6 points and 6.4 assists per game as the Americans went a perfect 5-0. The team won games against Senegal, Puerto Rico, Italy, New Zealand and Spain to round out the tournament.

It’s the second MVP award for Clark on the world stage. She received the honor when she was a part of the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2021.

Clark has taken a long journey back to the basketball court as she only played in 13 games for the Fever during the 2025 season. She averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and 5 rebounds per game, but an injury right before the All-Star break threw her off course.

WNBA, PLAYERS STRIKE LATE-NIGHT DEAL FOR NEW CBA

Advertisement
Caitlin Clark on the court

Caitlin Clark (17) brings the ball upcourt during a training camp for the U.S women’s national basketball team, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Durham, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley, File)

The sharpshooting guard suffered a groin strain and then a bone bruise in her ankle. The Fever closely monitored her recovery and eventually ruled her out for the remainder of the regular season.

“I’ve always been a person that’s going to just rely on my work. I feel like it’s certainly made me work harder,” the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year said earlier this month, referencing her injury setbacks.

“But that’s also probably the part that kind of stunk about it is I felt like I put in so much time and so much energy going into last season and then, obviously, only appeared in about 13 games.”

Despite worries about being rusty, Clark scored 17 points in her first game against Senegal. She nailed four 3-pointers and it set the stage for how the rest of the tournament would go.

Advertisement
Caitlin Clark plays to the crowd

Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark (22) gestures to the crowd during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Connecticut Sun Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The FIBA Women’s World Cup will start on Sept. 4 and run through Sept. 13.

Fox News’ Chantz Martin contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Advertisement

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Sports

Breanna Stewart’s Wife Marta Xargay Reacts Proudly as WNBA’s New CBA Deal Saves 2026 Season After Bitter Standoff

Published

on

Breanna Stewart‘s wife, Marta Xargay, had a proud reaction to the WNBA’s new CBA deal. On Wednesday, Xargay shared a picture of herself and the Liberty star on her Instagram story.

In the picture, the couple was in their bed. Xargay covered her face with her hand while Stewart stared into the camera with a wide grin. She praised Stewart in the story’s caption.

“She freaking did it! I’m so proud of her❤️” Xargay wrote.

Marta Xargay praises Breanna Stewart on her IG story.Marta Xargay praises Breanna Stewart on her IG story.
Marta Xargay praises Breanna Stewart on her IG story.

The WNBA and the WNBPA were in a stalemate for more than three months. The former CBA was set to expire in October 2025, but the league kept extending the deadline as it had not reached an agreement with the players’ association.

Advertisement

The WNBPA, led by Nneka Ogwumike as the President and Breanna Stewart as the Vice President, found common ground with the league on Wednesday. The new CBA is a major upgrade for the players from the previous one.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the new salary cap for the players starts at $7 million, which went up from $1.5 million. The league will also share about 20% of revenue with the players. A supermax contract will now start at $1.4 million, while the average salary went up to $600,000.

The league will also add two new teams this season, the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire. The 2026 WNBA season will begin on May 8.

Breanna Stewart shares her thoughts on the new CBA: “Transformational”

Breanna Stewart shared her thoughts on the new CBA while talking to the press after exiting the negotiations on Wednesday. She called the new agreement between the league and the players a transformational move.

Advertisement

“This deal is going to be transformational,” she said. “It’s going to build and help create a system where everybody is getting exactly what they deserve and more, from on the court and off the court aspects. Just excited that we can tell our fans that we’re going to be back.”

Breanna Stewart is coming off an incredible run with the Mist BC in Unrivaled. The New York Liberty star led the Mist BC to their first Unrivaled championship in the 3×3 league in early March.

She had a good run with the Liberty in the W last season. She averaged 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, helping them finish in fifth place in the standings. However, the Liberty lost (1-2) to the Phoenix Mercury in the first round of the playoffs.