The WNBA season has been a rollercoaster for Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever. On the team side, after a slow start to the year, they currently sit tied with the Atlanta Dream for the fourth-best record in the league at 26-14. But for Clark, she's been consistent throughout the season, with one concern that's been looming since July.
While Clark's play has been at an elite level, since picking up her seventh technical foul in late July, she's been one tech away from facing a single-game suspension. Although Clark was given a technical in a game against the Chicago Sky on August 8, it was rescinded hours later. Now, with four games left in the season, Clark is on the verge of avoiding that eighth technical foul as they reset in the playoffs,
and she admitted to being "really proud of herself" for that.
During an interview with the media and Fever beat writer Tony East, she explained that she's tried to talk with the referees and let them know she's working with them.
"I think it's certainly been like a conscious effort about it, and I think it's helped me play better basketball, just like [to] focus on what I need to focus on and let the last play go," Clark said. "You can't go back in time and change things. [I] feel like the refs might also know I have seven technical fouls. So, I always try to warn them, like 'I'm working with you. I'm working with you. Like, let's have a conversation.' I think it's made my conversations with them more positive and more conversational in both ways for them and for me."
"I mean, I really only have three more games to go because [once] the fourth game starts, if I get a technical, I'm not kicked out of the game, and then it resets for the playoffs. So, I'm really proud of myself," she continued. "...I think it's helped me learn a lot about myself and the ways that I can impact my team and, you know, how to communicate with the refs and things that are going to help this team. But I think it's just allowed me to focus on the things that are important, and I'm going to continue to try to do that."
Considering Clark picked up the bulk of her technical fouls in the first half of the 2026 WNBA season, it's actually fair for her to be proud of herself for avoiding picking up No. 8 thus far. It's apparently her approach to discussing issues with officials that has changed, and now she looks poised to head into the postseason with a clean slate and having avoided that single-game suspension.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Caitlin Clark has hilarious response to avoiding automatic suspension: 'Proud of myself'
