Caitlin Clark was stopped from wearing her favorite number 22 jersey before she made it iconic while playing for the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Indiana Fever

UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT - MAY 14: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever reacts after a foul during the first quarter against the Connecticut Sun in the game at Mohegan Sun Arena on May 14, 2024 in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Caitlin Clark was once denied her iconic jersey number (Image: Elsa/Getty Images).

Caitlin Clark was once denied her iconic jersey number long before she lit up the scene in college basketball and in the WNBA.

The Indiana Fever guard has been an exceptional talent to watch over the years. She has broken numerous college records and was also named Rookie of the Year in 2024. During her time with the Iowa Hawkeyes, she broke the all-time scoring record in the NCAA and the title for most 3-pointers scored over a season and across her entire college career.

Clark did all this while wearing the number 22 on her back for Iowa – an iconic jersey that the college team has since retired in 2025 in homage to their former star player. However, there was a time when Clark was not afforded the ability to choose her special number – which actually has a very basic meaning behind it.

The 23-year-old admitted her reason for choosing the number isn’t “very creative”, and is actually because she was born on January 22, 2002 – so it’s to stand for the date she was born on. But while in high school, Clark was told she couldn’t wear the ’22’ jersey for an extremely unusual reason.

Downing Catholic High School, which is where Clark attended for four years, forbids their athletes from wearing even number jerseys. This meant that the basketball star was forced to slice her number in half and wear the number 11 throughout her high school career.

Nowadays, the number ’22’ is synonymous with Clark, much like the number ’23’ is for Michael Jordan and the number ’30’ for current NBA icon Steph Curry.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - SEPTEMBER 15: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever reacts during the second half against the Dallas Wings at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on September 15, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Clark has made the number 22 iconic in the NCAA and WNBA (Image: Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Clark will enter 2025 as a sophomore athlete for the Fever and is aiming to clinch her first championship with the playoff-hunting team – but a few teams are standing in her way.

One such success is the New York Liberty, who most recently won the 2024 title and celebrated it with a parade through lower Manhattan at the season’s end. During this parade, six-time All-Star Breanna Stewart sent a message to her competitors – including Clark – that Liberty isn’t satisfied with just one title win.

The two-time WNBA MVP said: “We’re not done yet but we’re gonna appreciate the —- out of this.”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 24: Breanna Stewart #30 of the New York Liberty carries the Championship trophy during the championship ticker tape parade and victory rally celebrating winning the 2024 WNBA Finals on October 24, 2024 in New York City.

Clark will be hoping to emulate Breanna Stewart’s career (Image: Elsa/Getty Images)
Stewart is not signed with a team and is floating around in the free agency market, but she looks likely to rejoin Liberty for 2025 in a bid to add yet another honor to her list. The 30-year-old is an Olympic champion and has won titles in the NCAA and WNBA – two things that have eluded Clark so far.

While Clark has brought the fire to the Fever in her debut season, helping them reach the playoffs for the first time in seven years, they still fell short in the first round to Connecticut Sun.

The guard will hope to lead the Fever further into the playoff rounds in 2025, but she will have Stewart and Liberty to contend with, as well as many other teams hunting for the WNBA championship.