Caitlin Clark, Fever React to MVP Race as Star Drops Rare Box-Score Stats Ahead of World Cup Break

After leading the Indiana Fever to 12 wins in 16 games entering the FIBA World Cup hiatus, Caitlin Clark has put herself square in the middle of the MVP race.

On the heels of the Fever's recent victory over the Connecticut Sun, Clark downplayed her individual stats by saying she's not thinking about the box score and the numbers are just a product of the flow of the game.

"I don't really care about the stats," she explained. "When I'm just flowing and playing, that's kinda what follows. That's kinda how I've been over the last couple games. Obviously, you're not gonna have 30-plus [points], 10-plus [assists] every night, but when you're able to do that it just allows the team to get going in a different way. Making shots, getting people open, that's contagious. It's contagious to the team."

Angel Reese breaks yet another WNBA record

Clark became the first player in WNBA history to record back-to-back games with at least 30 points and 10 assists. She had 37 and 10 in the Fever's 113-90 win over the Chicago Sky on Aug. 23.

Even though Clark didn't want to pump herself up, Makayla Thompson was happy to give her teammate flowers.

"I mean, she's incredible," Thompson said. "She's our GOAT in the league. You know what I'm saying? I mean, she just gives it her all every night. She just does all the things that she's going to do. She's shooting the ball well, giving great assists and just being her overall."

Also offering praise for Clark was Fever head coach Stephanie White (starts at 5:25 mark), who explained it can be "easy to take for granted some of the things that she does" on the court:

"It's easy to take advantage and think it's simple, and I think that's why players are great. They make the complex things look really simple. And when she's in a flow like this where she's able to score, she's playing at a pace that we want her to play at. She's moving the ball, getting it side to side, it's really, really fun to watch. Sometimes you can get caught up on the sideline just watching. So, it's really special what she's doing."

Since July 17, Clark is averaging 25.9 points on 49.6 percent shooting (43.1 percent from three) and 9.3 assists per game in 16 starts. She has eight double-doubles and one triple-double during this stretch.

Not coincidentally, the Fever have turned their season around to become a top-tier title contender. They were 14-10 after an 88-75 loss to the Golden State Valkyries on July 15.

The Fever have had two winning streaks of five games since that period. Their 12-4 record since July 17 is tied with the Atlanta Dream for the second-best in the league. They are averaging a WNBA-best 102.7 points per game during this stretch.

Indiana enters the FIBA break in fifth place in the playoff standings, but tied with the Dream at 26-14 overall. Those two clubs are only one game behind the Las Vegas Aces for the No. 3 seed.

The WNBA season resumes on Sept. 17 with every team having four games remaining in the regular season.

Indiana has a difficult closing stretch with games against the Washington Mystics, followed back two games against the Minnesota Lynx in three days from Sept. 22-24.