The crowd was hyped up, and so was Caitlin Clark, who had just hit a 3-pointer to give her team an 11-point lead. But at the commentators’ table sat the legend Candace Parker, wondering why the Indiana Fever star was pointing towards her. Parker said it was a big shot, but still couldn’t make sense of what had led Clark to point and yell at her.
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The incident happened in Game 2 of the first-round series against the Las Vegas Aces. The nine-second play saw Clark use Sophie Cunningham’s screen to get the ball from Aliyah Boston in the corner. The Fever star found herself on an island with reigning MVP A’ja Wilson. One dribble and a between-the-legs crossover, Clark made the shot over Wilson.
Clark turned left, looked at Parker, pointed towards her and said something to the two-time MVP. Parker didn’t hear anything, nor did she have any idea about what had happened in the moment.
“I don’t know what Caitlin Clark just said, but whatever hyped her up,” Parker said on the broadcast just a second after the viral moment. “That was a big shot right there.”
After a week of social media conjecture, the WNBA legend finally revealed what Clark had told her.
“I was just minding my business at the scores table, and Caitlin Clark just hit a big three, and then said, ‘What the fuck did you think this was?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, great shot. Let’s keep it moving,’” Parker said in the latest episode of the Post Moves podcast.
Parker played for the Aces in 2023, her last WNBA season, and won a title with Wilson and Co. But the three-time WNBA champion refrained from picking a side during the series. Parker also understood why a player like Clark would do something like that. The WNBA great was herself like that in her playing days.
“But I love it. It seems like there are certain players who get riled up and love the chaos,” Parker added. “I was one of those players who was like, ‘Please talk mess to me, please point in my face, please do those things to get me angry.’ So I just love this. I love the passion and all of that stuff.”
This might be the first time that Parker found herself in a situation like this, but during her broadcasting career, she sure has seen enough of players getting heated up watching legends on the sideline. Parker recalled watching Stephen Curry do the same with NBA legend Reggie Miller, who was calling the game.
After the game, Clark went to Parker and hugged her, and appeared to explain herself.
“I blacked out,” she appeared to tell the legend.
However, during the same game, a comment from Parker stood out, perhaps giving another perspective to the incident.
Candace Parker had called out Caitlin Clark before the viral moment
The viral moment, although it might appear to have taken place in a vacuum, goes back to a moment in the opening quarter of the game and gives a fresh angle to the incident. It was one of those moments when Parker’s basketball instincts and Clark’s passion had collided, and the latter found her moment in the last quarter.
The Fever had hosted the Aces in Game 2 after the Game 1 loss. But Indiana was far from giving up on the series. Clark opened her team’s scoring with a three, and the Fever looked under control. However, midway through the opening period, one of Clark’s plays left Parker unhappy, and she didn’t hold back.
Midway through the first quarter, the Fever star appeared to draw a foul from Stephanie Talbot around the 3-point line. However, the Aces forward stole and passed the ball to A’ja Wilson and then passed it to Chelsea Gray. The Aces’ playmaker then quickly passed the ball to Jackie Young, who was sprinting down the floor to score.
While this was happening, Clark stood there with her arms stretched, yelling at the referee to call the foul.
With Young going for a basket and Clark still looking at the referee, Kelsey Mitchell had to leave her player and sprint to the other side to defend Young’s layup, which eventually ended up converting. But Clark was still busy appealing to the referee.
“You’ve got to get back on defense, Caitlin. This is the playoffs,” Parker said, watching Clark.
“Baskets matter,” she went on. “You can talk to the refs after the game, but you have to get back and stop the run. This is what Vegas depends on: live-ball turnovers and long rebounds.”
Clark has often been called for abandoning the play in frustration at getting a non-call. Perhaps this is the learning curve for the 24-year-old star, and a veteran Caitlin Clark might not make that mistake. But for that game, Clark had the answer for Parker. She led the Fever to a 99-89 victory with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 15 assists. However, the Fever ended up losing the series to Vegas in Game 3.