Caitlin Clark Says She Still Feels ‘Like an Ordinary Person’ Doing ‘Extraordinary’ Things (Exclusive)

Natasha DyeWed, November 4, 2026 at 3:15 PM UTC

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Caitlin Clark on April 14, 2024Credit: Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty -

Caitlin Clark says she embraces feeling both “ordinary” and “extraordinary” as she releases her new children’s book

“People watch me on TV and they think the things I do are extraordinary, but I also feel like a very ordinary person at the same time,” says the WNBA star

For Clark, being “extraordinary” is about “doing a little extra to reach your big dreams”

To be extraordinary, you need to also embrace feeling ordinary, according to Caitlin Clark.

The two aren’t mutually exclusive, says Clark, whose children’s book, EXTRAordinary! A Little EXTRA to Reach BIG Dreams, is available now. “I feel like, you have these two different things, but at the same time, it’s one,” Clark, 24, tells PEOPLE.

“People watch me on TV, and they think the things I do are extraordinary, but I also feel like a very ordinary person at the same time,” she says.

Fresh off being named to the All-WNBA First Team for the 2026 season and winning a gold medal with the U.S. Women’s National Team in the FIBA Women’s World Cup, Clark thinks that harmony is “a really cool thing to understand and share with people.”

Caitlin Clark on March 11, 2026Credit: Brandon Todd /NBAE via Getty

She calls it a “good reminder for young people to understand that it doesn’t take a lot” to find their own way to be extraordinary.

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“I think it’s the difference in just doing a little extra to reach your big dreams, and I think a lot of times, even through my career and even growing up and wanting to achieve really great things, a lot of moments can seem really daunting and feel like you need to do these huge things to accomplish whatever big goal you have,” she says.

For Clark, it’s about putting up “an extra shot in the gym,” doing “a little bit extra in school,” or putting in extra time and attention as a sister or daughter. “I think every area of your life this can replicate too. I don’t think it just has to be sports,” says Clark.

Caitlin Clark’s book ‘EXTRAordinary! A Little EXTRA to Reach BIG Dreams’Credit: Milad Payami/FIBA via Getty; Random House Books for Young Readers

Still, she knows all too well that it’s easier said than done. “But not everything’s going to always go your way and you have to get back up and keep fighting and find a way because not everything through my life and my career playing basketball was always easy or handed to me,” she shares.

“I think that this book is a good reminder of that and that’s really what it means to me.”

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”