Caitlin Clark Fans Accuse Team USA Teammates Of Freezing Her Out After Win Over Czech Republic In Berlin

BERLIN — Caitlin Clark fans took to social media Monday night and Tuesday to accuse the Fever star's Team USA teammates of failing to feed her the ball during a lopsided 105-64 win over the Czech Republic, reigniting a debate over the point guard's role within the roster during the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.

The win clinched a knockout-stage spot for Team USA, extending the squad's perfect record through group play at this year's tournament in Germany. Clark finished the game with nine points, one rebound and seven assists, though six of her teammates outscored her individually. The result followed a considerably more difficult performance two days earlier in a narrow 55-52 win over Italy, in which Clark scored just one point.

A sports account on X shared a clip from the Czech Republic game that quickly circulated among Clark's fan base, captioned "TEAM USA DOESN'T PASS TO CAITLIN CLARK AGAIN... DESPITE HER FEEDING EVERYONE!" The accompanying voiceover in the video argued that teammates Breanna Stewart and Paige Bueckers were repeatedly positioned to limit Clark's ability to control the offense as point guard.

"So Team USA won today, but it was another game where they just wouldn't pass to Caitlin," the voiceover said. "So what they do is put Breanna Stewart; she's dribbling up the court. They put her in with Caitlin Clark and then don't let Caitlin Clark run the point guard." The video's creator added, "Honestly, anytime Paige Bueckers and Breanna Stewart were on the court, Caitlin Clark wasn't going to get the ball," and characterized the pattern as spanning "three straight games."

The clip highlighted several sequences in which Clark distributed the ball to multiple teammates, including Bueckers, Angel Reese, Aliyah Boston in the corner for a three-pointer, and a full-court pass to Stewart, with each recipient converting a field goal. The video's narrator argued Clark "could have about 15 assists in the game" had more of her passes been finished, and suggested the pattern reflected a deliberate effort to limit her offensive involvement rather than simple game flow.

Other fans echoed similar sentiments in response to the Czech Republic performance. One user described the pattern as "sabotage," writing, "We are back to nobody passing the ball to Caitlin. And Caitlin passing the ball to everyone else. CC sabotage in full effect by her teammates." Another frustrated commenter wrote, "They'll rather turn the ball over than passing it to Caitlin Clark. This is so funny."

Not all reaction to Clark's tournament role has framed it as teammates deliberately excluding her. Retired WNBA star Tina Charles pushed back on narratives isolating Clark specifically, suggesting the offensive struggles reflected a broader team issue rather than a targeted effort against any single player.

"It was a team USA issue yesterday, it's not fair to isolate Caitlin Clark's game only," Charles wrote on social media following the Italy game.

Beyond the passing debate, some fans have also pointed to head coach Kara Lawson's substitution patterns as a contributing factor, criticizing the limited minutes Clark has received relative to other members of the roster throughout the tournament. Clark was notably left out of Team USA's starting lineup entirely for the tournament's opening matches, a decision that had already drawn criticism from fans on social media before the passing controversy emerged. One fan reacting to that earlier lineup decision wrote, "The reigning MVP and the team's best player doesn't start? Only in the women's game would this ever happen. CC and Paige should be starting."

Despite the criticism directed at how she has been used within the offense, Clark's individual tournament performance has included standout moments. In Team USA's opening group-stage game, a 94-61 win over China, Clark recorded a double-double of 14 points and 11 assists without committing a single turnover, becoming the first player in Women's World Cup history to reach at least 10 assists without a turnover in a game, and the first Team USA player to record 10 or more assists in a World Cup contest since Dawn Staley in 1998. FIBA subsequently named her Player of the Game for that performance.

The Italy game presented a considerably rougher outing for both Clark individually and Team USA as a whole. The Americans shot just 29% from the field and made only one of 12 three-point attempts, logging 11 assists against 14 turnovers in what became their lowest-scoring game in Team USA World Cup history since 1971. A contested no-call on a drive by Clark late in that game, in which she appeared to be blocked by Italian center Olbis Andre without a whistle, further fueled debate among fans over whether officiating had also played a role in her uneven tournament performance.

Despite the criticism, the majority of fan reaction following the Czech Republic win leaned in Clark's defense rather than critical of her play, according to accounts of the social media response, with many pointing to her continued strong assist numbers as evidence her playmaking remains a significant asset to the team even during stretches when her own scoring has lagged.

With group play now complete, Team USA is scheduled to face the winner of a qualifying matchup between Japan and Hungary in the tournament's quarterfinal round. As the Americans continue pursuing a gold medal, the ongoing debate over Clark's role within the offense, and whether teammates are adequately involving her in the flow of the game, appears likely to remain a central storyline for fans following the team's title run through the remainder of the tournament.