Caitlin Clark made her WNBA preseason debut on Friday night. The No. 1 overall draft pick made a strong first impression, finishing with 21 points (five 3PM) in the Indiana Fever’s 79-76 loss.

It was a packed crowd out there in Dallas, but one notable person was missing from the stands: Clark’s boyfriend.

Clark has been dating former Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball forward Connor McCaffery, the son of Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery, for over a year now. Their relationship is as strong as ever.

However, he was absent from Clark’s preseason opener on Friday night. Clark had a startling one-liner about his absence during a pregame media session.

“Will bae be here?” a reporter asked Clark before the Fever vs. Wings preseason bout.

“Uh, no, he’s working,” Clark responded. “I’m flying solo. I better get used to it, man, this is my job.”

Check this out:

Reporter: “Is bae gonna be here?”

Caitlin Clark: “Huh, no. He’s working… I’m playing solo. I better get used to him, man.” 😅

(via marca.en / IG)pic.twitter.com/C54uq1UmKz

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 4, 2024

Props to Caitlin Clark handling the strangest possible way to ask that question with class.

Fans, meanwhile, are hung up on the fact that Connor missed her first preseason game, but there’s an easy explanation for that.

Connor is involved with the Indiana Pacers, who are currently in the midst of a NBA Playoff run. He wants to follow in his dad’s footsteps in the coaching world. The Pacers gave him his first chance to chase that lofty goal.

Hopefully, Connor will be there for the Fever’s regular-season opener later this month. But if he’s not, there’s no need to worry about their relationship. They’re clearly a busy couple.

I mean what are we doing here? First, he works for the pacers and they’re in a playoff run. Second, why are we asking that question

— Troy Muller (@Real_TroyMuller) May 5, 2024