Both younger forwards note that Clark is consistently holding them accountable on defense, challenging them to be in the right place at the right time. She’s been a particular role model for Young and Kierstan Bell. This super fan just couldn’t wait to meet after today’s W in Indiana 😆😂 // #ALLINLV /5NpK6v7KXX That means Clark comes off the bench for the first time in 10 years, and she’s leading with her voice in addition to her play on the court. They already had a championship-winning starting five and were mostly looking to improve their depth during the offseason. The Aces don’t necessarily need Clark to be the same player she has been at previous stops. When you have players who are as versatile as Jackie and A’ja as well defensively, that makes a ton of difference.” And she can guard one through four at times, she can guard the five. She’s able to stretch the floor, and she’s able to guard the other team’s best defender. “She gives us an ability to play big or play small depending on how we want to go with the lineups. “She’s a huge piece for us on the court, for sure, just the level of versatility that she gives us on both ends,” assistant coach Tyler Marsh says. The Aces had only one configuration of perimeter players (Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Riquna Williams and Young) who could make that lineup work, but Clark can now jump in at either forward position to maintain the team’s physical identity while going small. Las Vegas mostly played with two bigs last year, going small for 20 minutes during the regular season, including garbage time, before unleashing that unit for 40 minutes in the playoffs. “You put her on the floor and she can defend anybody.”Ĭlark, who is 5-foot-11, also unlocks a small ball element for the Aces. “She’s a defensive guru,” Clark’s former teammate and current Seattle coach Noelle Quinn says. A two-time all-defense selection, Clark was regularly tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter player. Instead, they’re the beneficiaries of Clark’s expertise on defense, another way she has made herself indispensable throughout her 12-year career.
Her new Aces teammates, specifically Jackie Young and A’ja Wilson, have celebrated that they no longer have to guard her. 👊 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐒 👊 #StrongerThanEver /bjZDANCVMoĪlthough she was never the focal point of an offense, her constant movement and ability to score from anywhere on the floor didn’t make Clark any easier to contain. One of the biggest plays of her career came on an offensive rebound, when Clark scored on a putback as time expired to give Seattle a two-point win in Game 1 of the 2020 WNBA semifinals. She honed her 3-point shot and also her skills as a cutter, timing her drives to the rim to provide an outlet for her teammates whenever they faced extra defensive attention. That forced the mid-major star, who made her bread and butter as a low-post scorer in her collegiate career at Middle Tennessee, to evolve into a floor spacer.
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Playing on those rosters meant that Clark has rarely had a play called for her but has had to figure out how to make an impact regardless. In recent years, that catalog has become even more impressive as Clark teamed with Olympians and MVPs such as Elena Delle Donne, Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart before joining the near-unprecedented level of talent in Las Vegas. When Clark joined the league, her veterans were Sue Bird, Lauren Jackson, Katie Smith and Tina Thompson, four among the W25, not to mention Tanisha Wright and European legend Ann Wauters.
But I’ve loved how she’s fit in with our group.”Īs Hammon alluded, the list of Clark’s former teammates is a who’s who of the league’s greatest players of all-time. Her IQ is pretty off the charts and her professionalism and approach, so I’m not really surprised how well she’s fit in. “What’s allowed her to fit in so seamlessly is that she’s a hooper, she fits right in,” Aces head coach Becky Hammon says. A career spent alongside superstars, from Seattle to Washington and now Las Vegas, has made Clark the ideal role player for a super-team. It’s a stark contrast to how easily Clark, a two-time WNBA champion, slots in on the basketball court.Įven in her first year with the Aces, there’s a comfort to Clark’s movements with her new teammates that suggests they’ve been playing together for years. She’s certainly not tone deaf – as she tells The Athletic, she can hold a note just fine – but when the rest of her family starts to harmonize and turn a rendition of Happy Birthday into a “freaking Jackson Five moment”, she can feel a little out of place. The daughter of two musicians and the sister of multiple others, Clark is the exception who didn’t pursue a musical career.
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