The Indiana Fever were in New York, playing Liberty, when Jonquel Jones set up a screen on Clark. Her eardrum ruptured. She smiles when telling the story during an interview in Indianapolis, noting that it “speaks to the physicality” of the WNBA.

“I think it’s something that I’ll always remember, like, coming into this league,” Clark said.

Her eyes had been on the league for years.

“A lot of these players are who I grew up watching on TV and wanting to be like, and now I get to play against them,” she said.

Caitlin Clark’s journey from her driveway to the hardwood

Clark, 22 in age and uniform number, grew up in Iowa. She was already running circles around the boys when her dad took her to see a WNBA game in Minnesota. She returned home hellbent on adding distance to her jump shot. Clark begged her dad to tear up some grass and pour more concrete so she could have an entire three-point shot.

“Our driveway was, like, slanted, so I only had a three-point line on one side of the driveway,” she said. “So I told my dad he had to tear up all this grass, and he did.”

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She wanted to be like the women she watched playing on TV. Now she’s on the hardwood with some of them, shooting her trademark shot: a jumper from just inside midcourt, the Logo 3.

“I only shoot from back there in games if I’ve, like, made a couple,” Clark said. “Then you get a free pass to, like, launch a long three.”

Part of her process is gauging her distance — logo placements, and size, vary from court to court.

“I would always want to see how big the logo is,” she said. “Some people have, like, bigger logos at center court, some have smaller ones. So it’s if it’s pretty big, I can usually get there.”

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She knows when the ball leaves her fingertips if it’s a good shot.

“I know when I’m going to miss. I know when I’m going to make it,” Clark said. “The worst is when it feels good and you still miss.”

Caitlin Clark brings long shots, new fans to WNBA

Clark made her WNBA debut earlier this year after a college career that drew in new fans.

“She’s clearly an unbelievable player, came in with an unbelievable following, has brought a lot of new fans to the league,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.

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Engelbert also pointed to Angel Reese, Rickea Jackson and Cameron Brink as standout players.

“No league’s ever about one player. That player could get hurt or whatever,” Engelbert said. “So I think it’s just to give recognition that in sports, people watch for compelling content and rivalries. And you can’t do that alone as one person.”