No. 22 bears a special significance to Fever superstar Caitlin Clark, who has donned the number ever since her college days at Iowa.
Clark originally picked No. 22 because she was born on Jan. 22—a simple but practical reason. The number became fused with her identity on the Hawkeyes, as she led Iowa to two national title games and surpassed Pete Maravich as the all-time leading scorer in both men’s and women’s Division I basketball.
Her No. 22 jersey has even been hung up in the rafters at Carver-Hawkeye arena. So, why is Clark changing it to No. 12 for Team USA?
Why Caitlin Clark is wearing No. 12 for Team USA
Clark, who will make her national team debut against Senegal on Wednesday in Team USA’s FIBA Women’s World Cup opener, will don No. 12, but not because she wants to. One of USA Basketball’s longstanding rules is that players can only choose a jersey number between 4 and 15. The requirement originally stemmed from FIBA’s rules for international competition, which implemented the 4-15 jersey number selection to help referees more easily communicate foul calls. Though FIBA has since thrown the rule out, USA Basketball has stuck to tradition.
Clark sported jersey No. 17 during Team USA training camp last year and spoke about the “weird” feeling of wearing a new number.
“If I eventually make the team — it’s weird because in international basketball I think it’s only 4-15, those are the only numbers,” Clark said on the New Heights podcast in December. “Isn’t that weird? And you don’t get to pick. At least for the United States (national team). So it’s kinda cool, so when I played for junior national teams in the past, we have a bag tag, like a sticker on your backpack, and it says all the players that have worn your jersey. So if you’re No. 6, it’d be LeBron. And then you’d have the women’s players and all the men’s players, which is really cool.”
Who else on Team USA has worn No. 12 in the past? No one special, just GOAT Diana Taurasi who wore it during her historic six Olympic gold wins from 2002 to ‘24.
As for other notable numbers, Angel Reese will be sporting No. 9, worn by the likes of four-time MVP A’ja Wilson and WNBA icon Lisa Leslie. Paige Bueckers is wearing No. 4, which was worn by legendary guard Teresa Edwards. Both Reese and Bueckers will be making their Team USA national team debuts as well.
More WNBA on Sports Illustrated
- Caitlin Clark Shines as Team USA Rolls Over Senegal in FIBA World Cup Qualifier Opener
- A’ja Wilson Was Just As Shocked As the Rest of Us at Bam Adebayo’s Stunning 83-Point Game
- The Current State of WNBA Negotiations As Proposed CBA Deadline Comes and Goes
- Caitlin Clark Explains Why She Has Butterflies Ahead of National Team Debut
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Caitlin Clark Is Wearing No. 12—Not No. 22—for Team USA.
