Caitlin Clark trusts her ability to shoot logo 3s.

But, she is still learning to trust that her body will hold up through aches and pains.

The WNBA’s biggest star, who was limited to 13 games by a variety of injuries last season, said Friday that her decision to sit out the previous game as a last-minute scratch was part of a new learning process.

“I think, at the end of the day, it’s me and my confidence,” Clark said before tallying 22 points and nine assists over 32 minutes for the Fever in a win against the Valkyries. “Coming back from injury and having however many soft tissue injuries [in 2025] is a real mental challenge.”

The WNBA warned teams about skirting injury rules this week after Clark did not appear on the Fever’s day-before-game injury report. She was unexpectedly ruled out two hours before tip-off Wednesday against the Fire, which had coach Stephanie White oddly claiming that Clark is “healthy” but has a “back issue” that requires “time to be ready.”

Clark said she woke up on Wednesday feeling soreness, and at-home physical therapy didn’t help.

“I think there’s moments where maybe I get in my head a little bit, and that’s understandable,” Clark said. “I need to have a little grace with myself. I need people to give me a little bit of grace, too. When you go through so many things, it becomes a little bit traumatizing, too.”

The Fever have five days off before their next game. 

Clark, who played in 139 games over four years at Iowa and 40 more as a rookie for the Fever, might be learning from pushing her limits too much and sacrificing the long-term for the short-term last season.

“These are the best players in the world,” Clark said, “and if I don’t feel 100 percent confident in my body on Game 5 of the (regular season), I don’t know if that’s really worth it in that scenario.”