**PHOENIX** — Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark bounded up the stairs to the interview podium following Saturday night’s WNBA All-Star Game, exclaiming, “I’m on vacation!” As she sat down, grinning from ear to ear, she told media members, “Alright, last time for a month, get your questions in.”

Clark was giddy throughout the entire six-minute availability, answering questions thoroughly and adding in some jokes. The entire time she was on the podium, though, she was thinking about one thing: This was her last obligation before she was officially on her first break from basketball in nearly a year.

Clark, who wasn’t picked for Team USA in the upcoming Paris Olympics, will now get a break until the Fever return on August 16.

While Caitlin Clark didn’t specify her vacation destination, she expressed her relief at taking a break from basketball. “I honestly can’t wait to not touch a basketball for a while,” Clark said with a laugh. “I’ve shot too many times in the past year.”

As soon as her interview ended, Clark jumped out of her seat, wished everyone a nice month, and quickly made her way down the stairs. She finally has a well-deserved break.

“I’m loving that she’s going to get a breather and get some rest, just for our push after this Olympic break,” Fever coach Christie Sides said on Wednesday. “I think it’s great for her. She’s just been going so hard for quite some time now, and this is just going to help her so much to kind of decompress.”

Clark had been playing high-level basketball non-stop since September 2023, when the Iowa Hawkeyes started preparing for the 2023-24 college season. After reaching the 2024 national championship game, she was drafted by the Fever a week later. Less than a month after her last college game, she was in training camp for her rookie WNBA season.

Given her fame, Clark is easily recognized and needs to be “on” all the time. It’s been non-stop physically, mentally, and emotionally for the Hawkeye-turned-Fever star, and she knows she needs time to unwind.

“I think it’s hard as a professional athlete at times because people don’t always realize that I’m just like everyone else,” Clark said. “I’m just the same human. I go about my daily life, do all the things that you do, and just play basketball on top of that. Everybody’s looking at you to perform, and everybody wants you to be at your best every single day, and that’s just one side of it.”

The first half of the season has been emotionally draining for most of the Fever players, under increased scrutiny with more fans and media coverage than ever. The Fever’s grueling opening schedule of 11 games in 20 days led to a 2-9 start, with minimal time to practice. During this stretch, social media buzzed with critiques of Clark, her teammates, and coach Sides, with calls for changes.

Since that tough start, the Fever have gone 9-6, bringing their record to 11-15 at the break, placing them firmly in playoff contention at seventh in the league. After a 26-game push, everyone needs time to decompress.

“What these guys have endured from 1-8, that start, against the best teams in the league, early back-to-backs, it was just tough,” Sides said. “It was tough on them, it was tough on all of us, and just the expectations, that was another game changer. They kept showing up, trying to get better, even when we couldn’t practice, it was in video. Just the resiliency they’ve shown, I’m just so proud of them for that.”

Fever guard Lexie Hull mentioned in a TikTok that she and some teammates were heading to Mexico after their game against the Dallas Wings on Wednesday, but didn’t specify who was joining her. The only Fever player not taking a break is Kristy Wallace, who is heading to the Olympics with Team Australia.

Clark, along with Fever second-year center Aliyah Boston and seventh-year guard Kelsey Mitchell, had to wait a few more days before starting their vacation, as they had All-Star duties in Phoenix through Saturday night, culminating in a Team WNBA win, 117-109, over Team USA.

Now, they’re on vacation.