Caitlin Clark plans to have a Nikola Jokic-esque offseason

Caitlin Clark has been in "in-season" mode since November 2023. She led her Iowa Hawkeyes to another Final Four appearance, became the NCAA's men's and women's all-time leading scorer, was the 2024 National Player of the Year, was drafted No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever and had one of the most impressive rookie years in the WNBA.

The list could go on and on since that's not even mentioning it all. In sum, it's been a long ten months for Clark. Yet she led the Fever to a historic season that they saw come to an end Wednesday night after an 87-81 loss to the Connecticut Sun in Game 2 of the first round of the WNBA playoffs.

It wasn't a blowout game like Game 1, but was a back-and-forth game where Clark led the comeback after being down by double digits. She finished her final game of her rookie year with 25 points, six rebounds, and nine assists. And of course, she found her way into the history books again by becoming the first WNBA rookie to record 25+ points, 5+ assists and 5+ rebounds in a postseason game since Cynthia Cooper.

Obviously it was upsetting for the entire Fever organization to see an early exit in the postseason but during the media availability, Clark used her sense of humor to lighten the mood. It was a historic season for Indiana and a historic past couple of months for Clark; so she was asked about what her break will look like.

Caitlin Clark has definitely earned some time off

“I was focused on beating the Connecticut Sun, I haven’t thought too far down the line,” Clark said postgame. “I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow, I don’t know what I’m going to do the next day. Maybe play some golf. That’s what I’m going to do until it becomes too cold in Indiana. I’ll become a professional golfer.”

She plans to put the basketball down and pick up her golf clubs. It sounds pretty similar to what NBA star Nikola Jokic does in his offseason. Jokic travels back to his home country, Serbia, and takes care of his horses that he has for racing and is never seen even on a basketball court. He disconnects from the game and focuses on what he can't focus on during the season. And it looks like Clark is following suit.

Many people wondered if Clark would play in Unrivaled or any other offseason basketball league, but according to ESPN announcer Ryan Ruocco, she almost definitely won't.

So whether we will see Clark go professional in golf or the next time we see her on a basketball court, it's for certain she will be doing Caitlin Clark things.