Caitlin Clark reveals 'welcome to the W' moment when she was injured early in 2024 season
Caitlin Clarkβs WNBA rookie season was one for the record books, but she also remembers the moment when she knew she was in pro ball.Β
Her "welcome to the WNBA" moment.Β
Clark appeared on the latest "New Heights" podcast with Travis and Jason Kelce and was asked about the moment when she was welcomed by fellow WNBA players.Β
She knew the answer right away.Β
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"Somebody set a screen on me, and I hit my ear just perfect on the girl where my eardrum popped. And it ruptured," Clark said of her Fever game against the New York Liberty June 2. "I knew it right away because Iβve done it before [while tubing in a lake]. It hurts so bad. β¦ That was my welcome to the W moment."
Clark said while her ear didnβt bleed, her hearing wasnβt the same for a few weeks.Β
"It takes months to heal," Clark added. "So, after the season, the doctor had to go back and forth and see if it closed. And if it doesnβt close, you have to have a minor procedure. But, lucky enough, it did close. So, I was fine."Β
The 104-68 beatdown by the Liberty against the Fever was Clarkβs 11th game of her rookie season.
The injury occurred in the fourth quarter of the blowout, and Clark got attention from trainers on the bench before needing to walk back to the locker room at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.Β
Clark missed the rest of the game.Β
"I donβt wanna explain it. Itβd probably be pretty gross. But, no, I feel fine," Clark told reporters at the time of the injury. "I canβt hear great out of one of my ears."
The injury didn't prevent Clark from breaking a number of records, including most assists in a season.Β
Clark was named Time's Athlete of the Year and the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year. She was also named a WNBA All-Star for the first time.Β
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