There’s no doubt about it– Caitlin Clark is fun to watch. Whether you’re rooting for the Iowa Hawkeyes or just love good basketball, you mark her games in the calendar. Her Iowa Hawkeye’s matchup with Ohio State this month was the most-watched women’s basketball regular season game since 1999.
With her knack for hitting threes from way downtown, hitting teammates for open looks, and notching scoring records, Clark is taking the groundwork laid by previous players and propelling women’s college basketball to new levels.
But there’s more to Caitlin than just her game. It’s the way she carries herself and what she says off the court that’s growing fans too. With March Madness just around the corner and her sights soon set on the WNBA, now’s the perfect time to check out what she’s been saying. We’ve picked out our top 22 Caitlin Clark quotes to share with you.
1. Shoutout to The Team
“My teammates, I’m just so thankful. They let me be me and I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for them.”
Clark is always big on giving props to her teammates. Here, she recognizes that she owes a lot of her success to their contributions and support.
2. Not Only About Me
“You just want to see your teammates succeed.”
Clark’s ability to drop assists in basketball often gets overlooked by her shooting. To her, it’s about the team winning. And she gets just as hyped for her teammates’ victories as her own.
3. The Fun of Playing Together
“You can just feel the energy and the joy and the excitement that our team plays with and that’s contagious. That’s what’s been so fun about this whole ride is the style of basketball we play. People love it. They’re not just here for me. I’m sure I help, but at the end of the day, we have a great team and a really great culture. And that’s what makes it so fun.”
Fans have been lining up to see Clark and Iowa. In this Caitlin Clark quote, she recognizes how her team’s upbeat playstyle wins over fans and emphasizes their collective success.
4. Legacy of Impact
“I want my legacy to be the impact that I have on young kids and the people in the state of Iowa. I hope I brought them a lot of joy this season. I hope this team brought them a lot of joy.”
I don’t think anybody’s going to forget Clark’s four-season performance at Iowa. Here, she points out she hopes to leave a mark off the court by spreading joy to kids and adults in her hometown.
Did you know? Caitlin Clark leads all Big Ten active players in career double-doubles.
5. More Than Records
“A record is a record. I don’t want it to be the reason people remember me. I hope people remember me for the way I played with a smile on my face, my competitive fire. Sure, they can remember the wins but also the fun me and my teammates had together.”
Clark hopes folks will look back and remember her not just for her records but for her passion, joy, and the fun shared with her teammates.
6. Signature Logo Three
“Y’all knew I was gonna shoot a logo three for the record, come on now.”
With confidence and a touch of humor, Clark acknowledges she can pull out her insane long-range shooting, especially when setting an all-time NCAA scoring record.
7. Mutual Confidence
“I have all the confidence in the world in this group, and they believe right back in me. And that’s all you need.”
As good as Clark is, her Iowa teammates are just as important for progressing through the tournament and getting to the national championship game. Here, she highlights that it’s a two-way street of trust with her team, believing it’s their foundation for success.
8. Heart Over Height
“All we did was believe in each other. You know, we might not be the tallest. We knew they were going to be us on the glass. but all we had to do is have some heart and some belief.”
Several memorable Caitlin Clark quotes came after her Iowa team upset South Carolina in the 2023 Final Four. In this one, she notes they were facing a bigger and more athletic team, and suggests it was their heart and belief in each other that leveled the playing field.
9. Keep Pushing Forward
“We never hung our heads. We just came right back down every single possession and got after it.”
Here, she expresses how proud she is of her team’s persistence in their matchup with South Carolina, always bouncing back and giving it their all, no matter whether they’re down.
10. Adapting to Defense
“The way people guard me. They would just be physical, just push me off the line, make it harder to get to my spots. So I had to learn to create off the bounce a lot.”
We’ll see how well Clark handles defenders in the WNBA. But, she certainly has experience having to adapt her game to counter physical defenses, finding ways to still outmaneuver defenders and create plays off the dribble.
11. Shooter’s Instinct
“The first thing I know if it’s going in right off my hand and that just speaks to how much time I’ve put in and how many shots I’ve taken. I either know if it’s off or if it’s dead center. Any good shooter can feel the ball off their hand like that.”
Shooters can tell off whether the shot’s good as the ball leaves their hand. Here, Clark touches on that ability, a testament to her countless hours of practice.
12. Lessons from Dad
“I give a lot of credit to my dad. He was my first ever basketball coach, but he was a guy that never let me shoot threes when I was a young kid because he knew my form would be awful. I was tiny, I couldn’t get it there, so my dad was like, stay around the rim. That was always super important, just form shooting. I probably didn’t like it at the time, but looking back, shooting form fundamentals are the best thing.”
Every Iowa game telecast cuts to Clark’s family in the stands a few times. That’s partly because she regularly reflects on how her dad’s early coaching and focus on form played a crucial role in her development as a shooter.
13. Relief and Focus
“Just getting the weight of the world off my shoulders and being able to enjoy this last month with my teammates I think is the biggest thing.”
Here, she talks about feeling a sense of relief after announcing her eligibility for the 2024 WNBA Draft. It allowed her to focus on enjoying her final games with her Iowa team, emphasizing the importance of the present.
14. Want to Win
“My goal is to win a national title. Plain and simple, that’s what I want to do. To be honest, I’m not really looking that far ahead into the WNBA and what’s going to happen when. All of that will pan out whenever our season ends and that’s hopefully with a national title. ”
Clark sets her sights firmly on winning a national title this final season at Iowa. Since she’s announced she plans to enter the WNBA, there have been several Caitlin Clark quotes in which she’s expressed her dedication to her team’s current journey before thinking about her future professional career.
15. Learning from Loss
“That was the one bright spot when we lost last year. We have everybody back from our core that we could bring back. We had to make a decision — yeah, that (loss) stung — but at the same time, we’re lucky to have this group right here so why not go work harder and re-write the script? Change the story of what happened to us.”
In this Caitlin Clark quote that came after losing to LSU in the championship game, she reflects on how past defeats have motivated her and her team to work harder and change their narrative for the better.
16. Inspiring Those Coming Next
“I’m all about growing the women’s game and I’m glad I’ve given something that little girls can scream about at the top of their lungs. I can imagine when I was younger, I was doing the exact same thing watching on TV. It’s pretty fun.”
Clark seems to be fully aware of the powerful impact she’s having on the future of basketball. Here, she expresses her joy in being a role model and contributing to the growth of the women’s game, hoping to inspire young ballers.
17. Fueled by Former Greats
![A Caitlin Clark quotes graphic that reads: "I grew up really inspired by that [Minnesota Lynx] team, and when I was able to go to a game that only, you know, encouraged that more."](https://homeschoolhoop.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CaitlinClarkQuotes_Quote_17FueledByFormerGreats_Compressed-1024x1024.jpg)
“I grew up really inspired by that [Minnesota Lynx] team, and when I was able to go to a game that only, you know, encouraged that more.”
Here, Clark shares how watching the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx (and her favorite player Maya Moore) as a young girl fueled her passion for basketball and inspired her career.
18. Embracing the Hype
“I think I view, you know, matchups that people get really excited about is a really good thing for this game.”
Clark sees high-profile matchups, like last year’s Iowa-LSU championship, as positive for the sport, generating excitement and drawing attention to women’s basketball.
19. Passionate Play
“People are starting to understand women can play with excitement and a passion and a fire about themselves, and you know, that’s what’s fun. That’s what people want to see. But you leave it on the court.”
Following her intense NCAA championship loss to LSA, Clark makes it clear that she believes women athletes can talk trash and display emotion on the court too. In other Caitlin Clark quotes, she’s also specifically highlighting her admiration for Angel Reese and the skill of the LSU team.
20. Embrace the Trash Talk
“Men have always had trash talk … You should be able to play with that emotion .. That’s how every girl should continue to play.”
Clark backs the idea that showing emotion and engaging in trash talk is part of the game for everyone. She advocates for its acceptance in women’s sports just as it is in men’s.
21. Dream Big, Work Hard
“I just want to inspire young boys and young girls to be able to dream and do the same things that I have done. I was just that young girl. I looked up to WNBA players, NBA players, college athletes, even other pro sport athletes. All you have to do is dream, work really hard and be surrounded by really, really good people that believe in you, too.”
Clark reflects on her own journey from admiring pro athletes to becoming one, and shares her hopes of inspiring the next generation to dream big and work hard.
22. Ready for the Next Chapter
“I think there’s pros and cons to both sides, and that’s what made the decision so difficult. It was almost a win-win, but at the same time, a lose-lose, because I was giving up something. I’m just kind of ready for the next chapter and a new challenge in my life. But, I think the reason that I decided to announce it when I did was just to have that closure, especially going into Senior Night.”
Among all the Caitlin Clark quotes in this list, this one is most bittersweet. She opens up about the complex emotions surrounding her decision to move on to the next phase of her career. She highlights her readiness for new challenges while acknowledging it will be hard to end her time at Iowa.
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Caitlin Clark photo in featured image: By John Mac – https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmac612/53558910406/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=145963861. Publisher isolated Clark from the original background and added a yellow background.
