Team USA Head Coach Drops Brutal Caitlin Clark Update
Kara Lawson is staying her ground.
Kara Lawson just told Caitlin Clark fans the thing they did not want to hear. The Team USA coach is keeping her veteran first five for the quarterfinal against Hungary. Clark stays on the bench after three group games in Berlin.
Lawson talked with OutKick before the knockout round and refused to flip the rotation.
“I think that our starting group’s done a pretty good job of getting us off to good starts, and rotationally from game to game we could change things, but I like where we are right now,” she said.
Caitlin Clark will remain on the Team USA bench as coach Kara Lawson refuses to mess with her starting five.
“I like where we are right now.”
🎥:@JackThompsonFOX https://t.co/Nc0vKL0djS
— OutKick (@Outkick) September 9, 2026
She used the same line when asked about Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers. Those two also come off the bench until Lawson changes her mind.
Caitlin Clark Changed Games Off The Bench In Group Play
Caitlin Clark. (Image via X)
Lawson opened the tournament with Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, Jackie Young, Kahleah Copper and Chelsea Gray. Clark still led the team in minutes at about twenty-two a night. She also ran the offense the second she checked in.
The historic World Cup debut against China set the tone right away. Clark scored 14 points and handed out 11 assists without a turnover. That assist line set a Team USA World Cup mark in her first appearance.
Italy was the ugly night. Clark finished with one point and missed every field goal as the Americans barely survived 55-52. She bounced back with nine points and seven assists in the blowout of Czechia.
Through three games, she is averaging eight points and 6.3 assists.
A viral China photo stole more attention than the box score after the opener. The basketball part stayed simple. The ball moved faster whenever Clark ran the show from the second unit.
Caitlin Clark Will Not Start Against Hungary Either
Caitlin Clark (Photo by IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Knockout basketball leaves no room for a slow first five. The United States has never lost a World Cup quarterfinal, and that streak now sits on Lawson’s rotation. Hungary is next, and the coach is not flinching.
Reese has 26 points and 18 rebounds in under twenty minutes a night. Bueckers has been the steadiest young scorer of the three. Lawson still said she likes where the group is right now.
Lawson can still change a game from the second unit. She just will not change the first five. Clark already made history in a reserve role. Fans wanted the next step, but Lawson told them no.
