Caitlin Clark only needed one word to epitomize her MVP candidacy

Caitlin Clark might be one of the best shooters in the league, but there's something else about her that really showcases her MVP potential: the way she plays a truly unselfish game of basketball. It takes a certain degree of self-awareness and a true desire for the entire team to be great to manage to shoot and score the way Clark does and make sure your teammates are getting the shots they need and want, too, and somehow this WNBA sophomore manages to do that (and more).

Though coverage of Clark's game is dominated by unbelievable 3-pointers and elite passes, something that could stand a little more attention is the way Clark constantly turns the attention she receives onto her teammates, on the court and off of it. That's something she first learned to do at Iowa under Lisa Bluder, and a skill that is only growing with her time in the WNBA.

In an interview with The Athletic published June 6, Bluder admitted that Clark's college teammates sometimes struggled with the amount of attention she received in college. "You can’t ignore it. If you ignore it, you’re in trouble. We would tell our team a lot: 'Hey, when Caitlin’s light shines, it shines on all of us. We all reap the benefits from that. So instead of being jealous about it, let’s enjoy it,'" Bluder explained. "It was getting the rest of the team to buy into that."

Caitlin Clark is all in for her team

If that problem exists in the WNBA, her teammates aren't showing it. In fact, it's the opposite — the rest of the Fever was clearly thrilled to have Clark back on the floor this weekend, and she was obviously happy to be there. And while Clark was happy to speak about her own performance following the team's 102-88 win over the Liberty Saturday, she also made sure to highlight the work of everyone.

"I thought we did a really good job of getting the ball into the paint, that and then kicking it out," Clark told reporters after the game. "We got high-percentage looks."

"I thought my rotations were good. I feel strong," she also said. "I felt good. I thought we played a great game."

There's an important word there: we. As Courtney Williams told her fans and followers on June 15, "That girl make that team different." And while it's true that Clark makes the Fever better, it's just as true that her teammates push her to be as great as she can be — and she rises to meet their challenge just about every time.

The MVP race is young and there are a lot of contenders on the floor, but Clark's name should certainly be in the mouths of everyone watching.