Caitlin Clark excited for return to court with Team USA

Caitlin Clark called it a "really cool opportunity" as she prepares to make her Team USA debut at the FIBA World Cup qualifiers in Puerto Rico.

The five games between March 11-17 will also mark Clark's first competitive basketball games in nearly eight months. That's when her second WNBA season was cut short by a series of quad, groin and ankle injuries.

Clark took part in her first USA Basketball senior national training camp in December and said that she was 100%, but she acknowledged that this week brings different feelings.

"I don't want to call it nerves, but excitement to play," Clark said after practice Monday, per ESPN. "This is a really cool opportunity. If you don't feel that way, then you probably don't care enough. Certainly, that's how I feel about it for myself.

Clark, 24, is expected to make her Team USA debut on Wednesday against Senegal. The qualifiers are a prelude to the FIBA World Cup in September, with Team USA one of five that have already qualified for the tournament in Berlin.

"This is a different stage," she said. "You're not going to come out here and be the star player. That's not how it's going to be for USA Basketball."

After not missing a game during her rookie season in the WNBA, Clark averaged 16.5 points and 8.8 assists while appearing in only 13 contests last year.

"I feel like I've put myself in the best possible shape I could be in at this point," Clark said. "The first game is the hardest, but once you get in kind of a flow of things, you figure things out."

Team USA is chock full of WNBA stars, with 2025 No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese and Kiki Iriafen also set to make their senior national team debuts.

--Field Level Media