Taurasi encourages Clark to 'cut the white noise out' amid struggles
Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi offered some words of encouragement for Caitlin Clark as she gets acclimated to the WNBA.
Taurasi, who made headlines in April after stating that "reality is coming" for Clark in the WNBA, told Arizona Sports 98.7's "Bickley & Marotta" show Friday that the Indiana Fever rookie needs to ignore the "white noise" around her and focus on having fun on the court.
"Sometimes you've just got to cut the white noise out and get back to what the game is," Taurasi said. "Sometimes you get to a position where there's just so much attention and so many eyes on you that you're not really having fun out there.
"I know it's very cliche when it comes to sports, right? But when you play with that joy and that passion, you can get back to being creative on the court, and that's what's made her just a legend. The one thing I've always admired about Caitlin is, when there's a moment, she always steps up to the plate, which is just an unbelievable trait to have."
Clark scored 20 points in her WNBA regular-season debut Tuesday night but also committed 10 turnovers as the Fever fell 92-71 to the Connecticut Sun. She finished with nine points on 2-of-8 shooting and added seven rebounds and six assists in her home debut against the New York Liberty on Thursday, which the Fever lost 102-66.
Taurasi and Clark face each other for the first time this season on June 30.