Caitlin Clark earns AP Player of the Week amid technical foul controversy

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark was named the Associated Press Player of the Week after a historic stretch that included a 45‑point, 10‑assist performance against the Seattle Storm. The game set a Fever single‑game scoring record and made her the first player in WNBA history with at least 40 points and 10 assists in the same contest. She also became the fastest player to reach 200 career three‑pointers, doing so in just 74 games.

Clark returned this week from a lingering back injury and helped the Fever win back‑to‑back games over Seattle and the New York Liberty. However, she drew her sixth technical foul of the season after confronting officials during the Liberty game, triggering a $1,000 fine and putting her two fouls away from an automatic one‑game suspension. The league’s escalating fine system means further infractions could lead to a suspension.

Off the court, former Iowa teammate Kate Martin praised Clark’s new Nike signature shoe on social media, and former NBA star Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar criticized the media’s portrayal of Clark as the “face of the league.”