Caitlin Clark is in the middle of her third WNBA season with the Indiana Fever, and she is treating the 2026 NBA Finals as a classroom. The Fever guard was in New York during the series and made it clear she was not just there to enjoy the atmosphere, as she was also studying the San Antonio Spurs' run in the Playoffs.
Clark's mindset tracks with where she is in her career right now. After a left quad strain and subsequent injuries limited her to only 13 games during the 2025 campaign, the 24-year-old is recording 18.7 points, 8.2 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game. Watching the best basketball available is part of her routine as she looks for anything she can use to improve.
The Knicks-Spurs Finals have given her plenty to learn. New York leads the series 2-0 heading into Game 3 at MSG on Monday, but Clark's attention has been split between both sides.
She specifically called out the Spurs' run through the Western Conference, noting that San Antonio's win over the Oklahoma City Thunder was something she found genuinely instructive as the great Finals series itself.
"And even the Spurs beating the Thunder was incredible too," Clark said. "You can learn so much. So I try to absorb as much as I can."
Caitlin Clark says she doesn't want the Knicks to sweep the NBA finals, and that she wants the series to go to a Game 7 because she's "a fan of basketball."
"I'm a fan of basketball, so I love great games. I don't want the Knicks to sweep it. I'm kind of indifferent on who… pic.twitter.com/XBBC97i29P
— Yanyan Li (@yyanyanli1) June 7, 2026
The Spurs' Western Conference run, built around Victor Wembanyama's two-way versatility and defensive discipline, offers a completely different blueprint than anything the Fever face in the WNBA. For a guard who prides herself on playmaking and floor vision, this kind of cross-league film study is exactly how elite players stay elite.
New York leads the series 2-0 heading into Monday's Game 3 at MSG. The Knicks took Game 1 with a late 11-0 run led by Jalen Brunson’s 30 points. They followed it with a tight 105-104 win in thrilling Game 2 after Wembanyama missed a shot at the buzzer. For Clark, watching how both teams handle these high-pressure moments helps her study late-game decision-making.
Game 3 tips off Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Clark will be watching, likely rooting for the Spurs to win so they can avoid a sweep and extend the series to seven games.
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