KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Two days after having her No. 22 jersey retired by Iowa, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark was the featured guest at an annual Women's Sports Awards luncheon at T-Mobile Center talking about how much she grew during her first season in the WNBA last year.
Clark did a question-and-answer session with a moderator Tuesday at the event, which also honored local high school female athletes who won state championships in Kansas and Missouri in 2024. Clark was asked what advice she had for the youngsters about developing the ability to succeed in high-pressure situations.
"Confidence, that's where it comes from for me," Clark, 23, said. "But it's not like something you just have; it comes from the time you put in and how much you trust yourself because you worked for that moment.
"And I think also reminding yourself that it's OK to fail. Not every moment has gone how I planned throughout my career. But a lot of the times you reflect back on the things that have happened, and the failures are the reason that I've had a lot of really good success, whether it was in college or my WNBA career.
"My rookie year wasn't always the greatest, looking back at the beginning. But by the time we got to the end a few months later, I felt like a completely different person."
Clark, the No. 1 draft pick by the Indiana Fever, made her WNBA debut May 14 at Connecticut with 20 points -- but also 10 turnovers -- in a 92-71 loss. Indiana started the season 1-8 but finished 20-20 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Clark was an All-Star, Rookie of the Year and a first-team All-WNBA pick and led the league in assists and 3-pointers.
On Tuesday, Clark wore a red pantsuit in honor of her lifelong favorite NFL team, the Kansas City Chiefs, who will play in Sunday's Super Bowl in New Orleans. Clark addressed several topics in the Q&A, including what it was like to sit in a suite with Taylor Swift at a Chiefs playoff game Jan. 18 at Arrowhead Stadium.
"It was really fun," Clark said. "Taylor is obviously amazing, but I just think the coolest thing about her is her ability to bring people together and find joy in something. And she's just a very kind, caring person, and you can really feel that. I wish she was still on tour; I'd still be going to the shows."
As it is, Clark has been keeping busy in the offseason, and so have the Fever, who added veterans DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard and Sophie Cunningham through free agency and trades.
While growing up, Clark drove with her family from their home in West Des Moines, Iowa, to see Chiefs games, and she called Kansas City "one of my favorite cities" on Tuesday. Asked about the possibility of Kansas City getting a WNBA expansion team, which Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has expressed interest in being part of as an owner, Clark referenced the popularity of the NWSL's Kansas City Current. Their CPKC Stadium was built specifically for them, and it hosted the NWSL final in November. T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City could be a home for a WNBA team.
"Kansas City would be a good spot for it," Clark said of WNBA expansion. "Obviously, it's a great sports town that supports women's sports. But luckily enough, I don't make those decisions. You'd have to ask Cathy [Engelbert, the WNBA commission] about that.
"The way women's sports and women's basketball has taken off is truly incredible. This is just the beginning. It's showing the world, not even just our country, how great it is and how fun it is to watch women's athletics. I, personally, have always been a fan."