Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier on CBA negotiations, trash talk and WNBA All-Star Weekend
The press conference covered a range of topics during, most notably the ongoing CBA negotiations and Clark's recovery from a groin injury.
Here is what Clark and Collier said.
Collier: "The players, obviously, are taking this really seriously. We have the most participation in league history. I think we had close to 40 players in our league meeting. I think it just sends a really strong message that we're standing really firm on certain areas that we feel really strongly that we need to improve on, and I think we got that message across."
Clark: Yeah, I think for myself, that was the best part of being in the room. There's over 40 other players in this league and I'm sure a lot more would have loved to be there if they were in Indianapolis. And I think that's the most powerful thing is all the girls from across the league just being in that room together."
"That's a good question. Honestly, I feel like that's where we're really fortunate is that we have those other deals. And I think that's one of the things we're in the room fighting for. Like Phee said, we should be paid more and hopefully that's the case moving forward as the league continues to grow. That's probably the most important thing that we're in the room advocating for."
Collier: "Oh no, I don't trash talk."
Clark: "I'm not good, so the bar is low."
Collier: "I'll think of it after, like days after, 'Oh, I should have said this.' I can't think of it fast enough."
Clark: Phee's too nice. Even when we were picking our teams I think they would've liked it if we were talking trash a little bit more, but yeah, Phee's too nice. She's a mom."
Collier: "We're midwesterners. We're too nice."
"The weekend has been absolutely incredible. I hope every player in this league, whether you're participating in the game tonight or were in the three point competition and skills competition or were just here to enjoy All-Star weekend, I hope they felt the same and felt the love from the city."
"Pacers Sports and Entertainment poured in so much time and money and effort to really make this the best WNBA All-Star (weekend) there's been in this league — and I'm pretty positive it's been that. Obviously, this is my second so obviously I can't speak to the prior ones, but just really fortunate."
"For myself, it's still been a lot of fun. Obviously, I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to participate last night and won't be able to participate tonight, but still getting to be around and be a part of everything is really important for myself and for the fans. They've been out in full force, whether they're coming into the game tonight or just enjoying all the festivities that are around our city.
"I'm just really happy, not only for Indianapolis and the state of Indiana and our organization, but really just the league overall."
"Absolutely. And I think Phee would tell you a lot of the people in that room, probably half of them were — maybe not half, but a good amount of them were either my age or — we even had rookies in the room, too. We all have a good understanding that this is very important for our future, the future of the league, for the future of our careers."
"Obviously there's a good amount of older players, too, that have been in this league a really long time and are excited about the future of where it's going to continue to go and they've been fighting for change at the same time. So I think in the room there was a great balance of these young stars, but also these vets who have been advocating for certain things that we're advocating for for quite some time. That was one of the most powerful parts of it, honestly."
More coverage: WNBA All-Star Game live score updates tonight: Is Caitlin Clark playing? Rosters, how to watch
"When the injury happened, it was pretty frustrating considering I knew what the coming days were going to hold. It was dealing with that, then also trying to look at it in the most positive manner that I can and being part of this, that wasn't going to be taken away from me. Sure, maybe I'm not able to play the games, but I can still be here and participate, and I have a ton of friends and family in town who are having a really good time, so I've been trying to enjoy it the best I can."
"It all comes back to having a good perspective on everything. Certainly, there's frustration and a little bit of sadness, but at the same time, I've been able to have a great time too."
"Certainly unfortunate and I feel like there've been quite a few injuries over the course of the beginning of the season for quite a few people. So a lot of people are in the same boat as myself — and even my team has dealt with some injuries tonight, so some people will be on just a couple minutes here and there, and we'll make do with what we have, hopefully to beat Phee."
"I'm not going to say I've just been getting around-the-clock treatment. I've been still trying to enjoy this weekend and having a balance of that at the same time and soaking all of this in. Once tomorrow comes around, we'll completely shift my focus to getting as healthy as possible —"
Collier: "Licking your wounds from the loss."
Clark: "Yeah, whatever. But yeah, prioritizing (my recovery), but also having a good time has been important for myself."
Clark: "I told my team to have as much fun as possible. At practice, we just shot a little bit and then we shot a half-court shot and we headed out. But that's All-Star weekend. We joke about winning, but at the end of the day, it's not that serious. We're gonna have a fun time. And I feel like, for me, it's a little bit of a unique perspective, because my first All-Star game was vs. Team USA. It was a little more serious to help them prepare for the Olympics. So this one, I would say the actual play is a little more laid back and a little more fun, but it's been cool to see everything that's been going on and how much everybody's enjoying it."
Collier: "Exactly the same. I wasn't telling them anything about preparing for the game. We were preparing to be on Stud Budz. (laughs) Like Caitlin said, at the end of the day, we're here for a fun weekend. This is supposed to be our break, even though we play again Tuesday."
Clark: "Yeah, we would appreciate a longer break."
Collier: "So yeah, just having fun, especially together. It gets so serious, especially online, but we're friends and having a party with 30-40 of your closest people who you play with and against all the time. It's been really, really fun."
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