‘Worst player to play on either team’: Criticism mounts as Caitlin Clark gets benched

During the opening game of the FIBA World Cup against China, Caitlin Clark might not have started, but she certainly shined, posting 14 points and 11 assists in just 25 minutes of action. She looked like the best player on the court. On Sunday, however, she looked like the worst.

During Team USA’s narrow 55-52 win over Italy on Sunday, Clark had perhaps the worst game of her entire career at any level as she did not make a single shot from the field and was benched for the final seven minutes of the game.

Caitlin Clark Struggles

While she might have been dominant in the first game of the World Cup, that simply was not the case during Team USA’s showdown with Italy, as Clark had what was likely the worst game of her entire career.

Clark finished the game with just one point, going 0-for-6 from the field, including 0-for-3 from three-point range. To make matters worse, she wasn’t even setting other players up to score, either, as she had just one assist with two turnovers.

This marked the first time in her entire career at either the college level or the WNBA level where Clark did not make a single shot from the field in a game.

As a result of her struggles, Clark was benched for the final seven minutes of the game while the team pulled off the narrow win without her.

‘She’s a liability’

Needless to say, Clark’s struggles led to some mounting criticism from fans and media after her poor performance.

“I’ll be the first to admit,” said former ESPN star Linda Cohn. “No excuses. She had one point, 0-for-6 from the field. One assist, two turnovers in 19 minutes. Didn’t play the final seven minutes of the game.”

“My favorite thing about these FIBA World Cup games is that newer WNBA ‘fans’ get to learn that Caitlin Clark is not one of the best players on Team USA. She wasn’t even on the court for the final crucial minutes vs. Italy,” one fan wrote in a post on X.

“Here’s the truth, Clark was the worst player to play on either team. Not gonna sugarcoat it, this is a trend she plays well when the game is easy and doesn’t when it’s a tough game. CC fans dubbed her the face of the league and belittled other players in the W. They gave her impossible expectations and they haven’t been met. Insinuating Aja Wilson the greatest women’s basketball player ever was insecure was the dumbest thing anyone has ever said,” a WNBA fan account added.

“CaitlinClark did not look good today whatsoever she looked out of rhythm the entire game!!!” someone else wrote.

“This game was such a nightmare. we didn’t deserve to win,” another fan wrote.

“‘Face of the league’ scoring one point in a FIBA game they barely won is nasty,” someone else added.

“CaitlinClark is on the bench because she’s a liability on defense. Its not just an all offense game,” another fan added.

We’ll have to see how Clark and Team USA bounce back against Czechia on Monday.

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