Caitlin Clark explains jersey number change with Team USA for Olympics

With the 2026 WNBA season in question amid ongoing discussions surrounding a new collective bargaining agreement, Caitlin Clark‘s next appearance on the hardcourt could come in September during the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Germany. And it’ll include a new jersey number for the Indiana Fever superstar.

Clark, who has worn No. 22 since her days at Iowa as a nod to her Jan. 22nd birthday, is instead sporting the No. 17 while participating in the Team USA training camp ahead of next September’s FIBA World Cup in Germany. The 23-year-old Clark explained the reason for the number change during Wednesday’s appearance on the New Heights podcast with NFL brothers Jason and Travis Kelce.

“I didn’t get to pick (the number),” Clark told the Kelces. “Seventeen is not the best number ever, I wouldn’t have picked that, but … the players that have been on the national team (before) get to continue wearing their jersey until they’re done playing on the Olympic team or whatever happens. … All us newcomers – there were a lot of young people at that camp – get assigned a random number, (and) I guess I got assigned 17. Nobody asked me, but it was fine.”

Jason Kelce, who retired in 2023 following a 13-year NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles, then asked if Clark is stuck wearing the unwanted number “in perpetuity,” at which point the WNBA superstar revealed she’ll have another number if she ultimately makes the final Team USA roster.

“If I eventually make the team — it’s weird because in international basketball you can only (wear) 4-15, those are the only numbers,” Clark clarified. “Isn’t that weird? And you don’t get to pick. At least for the United States (national team). So it’s kinda of 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 (include) LeBron (James because) he was No. 6. And then you’d have the women’s players and all the men’s players, which is really cool.”

So, fair warning to all the millions of Caitlin Clark fans out there, don’t go out and purchase any No. 17 jerseys just yet, because her practice number will change once he’s formally named a member of Team USA’s 12-player roster.