Commentary: Caitlin Clark’s shooting slump continued in Seattle. Can the WNBA bear the blip?

SEATTLE – We are all waking witnesses to Caitlin Clark’s dream.

Though, on Tuesday, some parts weren’t pretty.

In a 94-86 win inside Climate Pledge Arena, Clark – the Indiana Fever’s sensational guard – couldn’t find her shot. Her trademark step-back 3-pointer betrayed her, bouncing off the back rim. A routine reverse layup proved anything but. She misfired on three straight possessions in a second-quarter stretch, clanking 3s from both wings and a point-blank floater.

The most unstoppable scorer in college basketball history has come to a screeching halt.

Literally, after Clark was called for a traveling violation midway through the fourth quarter, she lay on her back, apoplectic in the paint.

In her past three games, Clark has connected on a combined 13 of 47 field goals (27.7%) and 1 of 23 3-point attempts (4.3%). On Tuesday, she produced more turnovers (eight) than points (six).

None of which is cause for premature panic. Clark’s bona fides – the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award, the first-team All-WNBA selection, the 3,951 career points at Iowa, the iconic logo 3s, the bag brimming with handles and vision and range and game galore – are bigger than any three-game blip.

The WNBA, of course, needs its most valuable asset to be generational.

But Clark, for one, can’t afford to think that way.

“I’m an athlete competing at the highest level. I’m a perfectionist. You want to be really good every single night,” Clark said before Tuesday’s game. “When you’re not, that can frustrate you. But for me, it’s just reminding yourself why you play this game and how much fun you’ve had doing it over the course of how many years since you were a little kid.

“I don’t think that’s changed at all. That’s the reason I still play. This is what I’ve always dreamed of. For me, it’s just fun. It’s just a game at the end of the day.”

It’s much more than a game for the WNBA. That much was apparent Tuesday, inside an arena that sold out for the first time this season. More than two hours before tipoff, a man stood on the street, selling red No. 22 T-shirt jerseys for $30 apiece. A frantic fan in an Iowa hoops hoodie asked me when the doors opened.

Clark has already opened so many doors, a testament to her talent. In that way, her dream was on full display.

On Tuesday, Climate Pledge Arena quickly crowded with Fever and Iowa faithful. A crew in black and yellow Hawkeyes overalls gathered behind the basket throughout warmups. Screaming children with signs and towels and miniature basketballs asked for autographs. A who’s who of Seattle sports celebrities – Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Lenny Wilkens, Isaiah Thomas, Sounders forward Paul Rothrock, UW quarterback Demond Williams Jr. and running back Jonah Coleman – came to see the show.

For Seattle, it was a spectacle.

For Clark, it was nothing new.

“Any time we go on the road, people spend a lot of time and money to come to games,” Clark said. “They’re not just from Seattle. They’re traveling from all different parts of the country to come watch us. I think that’s really special. You try to give them the best show you can.”

Tuesday’s show was delivered by 6-foot-5 center/forward Aliyah Boston, who poured in a career-high 31 points on 13-for-18 shooting from the field to effectively skewer the Storm. Central Valley High graduate Lexie Hull added 15 points and 11 rebounds, her first career double-double. The Storm’s three-game winning streak was buried by committee.

Sure, it was a show.

Just not the one Fever fans might have been expecting.

“That’s something we’ve been telling our entire team this whole time, that it’s not going to be the same person every night. We’re buying into that,” Hull said. “Caitlin did a really, really good job of leading us and getting us into those actions that were working. That’s what it’s going to be – next man up. We is bigger than me. It doesn’t matter whose night it is, as long as it’s our night.”

The Fever won.

But how many more of those wins does the WNBA really want?

Can a league buoyed by Clark’s brilliance bear the growing blip?

“She’ll be fine. I don’t think we’re worried. We’re not worried about it,” Hull said after the game, when asked about her teammate’s extended shooting slump. “She’s a great shooter. She’s a great player. This happens to every great player. She’ll be fine. Not worried about it.”

Of course, the WNBA doesn’t need fine. It needs the phenomenon. It needs the ratings and ticket sales that cling to Clark’s cape. It needs the me, not the we – the generational juggernaut. It needs Clark’s dream to include utter dominance.

It needs doors to keep opening, thanks – in part – to Caitlin Clark.