"Sky is the limit": Lexie Hull is hyped to continue journey with Caitlin Clark, talks Unrivaled success, and growth of women's game (EXCLUSIVE)

Although she pledged secrecy on what her off-season workouts with Caitlin Clark entailed, Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull became familiar enough with both her teammate’s rookie hiccups and breakout performances to assess what’s in store for her second year.

After Clark won the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year award, Hull envisions her star teammate providing a worthy sequel.

“She’s had such a great rookie season, but she’s only going to get better,” Hull told Sportskeeda. “Especially with a player like that that is eager to learn and continue to get better, the sky is the limit.”

The same could be said for Hull.

She participated and excelled in Unrivaled’s inaugural season with Rose BC. She has sparked league-wide praise for her 3-point shooting and defense, including from WNBA legend Lisa Leslie. She has received endorsements for her strong fashion game. She and Clark repeatedly compliment and tease each other as the lead members of their teammates’ fan club.

Hull addressed all of those topics and more during a recent interview with Sportskeeda.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one interview has edited and condensed.

What’s your impressions of Unrivaled?

Hall: “I’ve really enjoyed it. I think if you would have asked anyone last year what it would be a year ago from now, and I don’t think anyone would have expected to have the season in 2024-25 and also to have it built out as good as it has been. They definitely surpassed my expectations. The player experience has been really impressive just from our facilities, the gear we’ve gotten and the sponsors have stepped up.

It’s really awesome. I think it’s just great, like in previous years with Athletes Unlimited, having the opportunity to stay in the States and prepare for the W season has been unbelievable. I’m very grateful for the opportunity.

In what ways has this surpassed your expectations so far with the facilities, the gear, sponsors and anything else?

Hall: “We had our first tipoff event, and it was here at Wayfair Arena [in Medley, FL]. I think coming into the arena, every single wall is covered in artwork and graphics. You don’t see that in every facility. They’ve really thought through everything. Our locker room was very exciting. I swear we have new stuff on our chairs in our locker room every day.

We’ve got Samsung rings and phones. We get Sephora bags every other week. We have good weight training facilities. We have saunas. We have infrared, cold tub and hot tub. We have everything you could need for recovery and prepare as a professional basketball player. It’s all in this building. So that makes it super convenient for us.”

What do you think of the style of play?

Hall: “It’s been fun. It’s definitely different than five-on-five and with the court being 72 feet. That’s shorter than the ‘W court. That’s been a transition. You’re used to having to accelerate for longer. And you’re straightened to decelerating and then turning up and then playing defense. It’s a lot different because the speed of play is so different. There is so much more space on the court offensively. But I’ve enjoyed it. You get to be involved a lot more. There is a lot more freedom in that style of play.”

You’re a basketball player. But what are the things you had to do to adapt to the smaller court and the speed of play?

Hall: “Defensively with five-on-five, you’re used to being able to help and have a rotation. You can count on each other. But for this, you really have to guard the person in front of you. If you get beat, there is going to be a wide-open player. Someone likely isn’t going to be able to help because they are too far away on the court. If they do, then there is a wide-open 3 on the opposite side. So I think it’s about figuring out when is the right time to help and when can you not and really focusing on one-on-one defensively. That is definitely a focus. You obviously want to do that in five-on-five, but that’s even more important here.

Then offensively, it’s about making the right reads. The shot clock is way shorter (18 seconds compared to WNBA’s 24 seconds). You have to get into your offense, get a shot up fast and then make sure they are the right shots, That’s how it is in every basketball game. But I think it’s more glaring here.”

With your engineering background, do you ever approach basketball like a problem to solve, such as analyzing your shot mechanics or game strategy in a technical way?

Hall: “With Stanford being a very tough school academically, you always have to prepare for every class and every assignment. I think I’ve taken that into basketball and tried to be the most prepared that I can, whether that’s watching the game on film or going over the plays and going over the scout. All of that, I think I have definitely taken from the grueling Stanford academic process.”

What was that like?

Hall: “It was fun. I liked school. I like the challenge of it. I love Stanford. I would go there 10 times over.”

You did a pod recently where you hit on the parallels with the Chelsea Gray and Caitlin Clark teammate experience with getting your hands ready for their passes. But from a bigger picture lens, what’s the chemistry been like with Chelsea?

Hall: “She’s just such a professional. It’s really fun to play with her because she is so consistent game in and game out. But she knows how to have fun. That is such an important balance. Because of her personality, she expects the best from you and she’s confident in you. But she’s also there to have jokes and lighten the mood. That makes for a really good teammate because it makes the game more fun. Getting to play with her, play loose and play free while trusting in her leadership has been really awesome.”

From what you’re comfortable sharing, what’s your favorite example that captures both her competitive intensity and how she can be fun on or off the court?

Hall: “In practice, we’ve been doing competition shooting. She and I are partners. She’s just talking sh--- the entire time while she’s knocking down her shots. It’s been to be on her fun, for sure. When the time comes for her to hit the shots, she hits it. But then she’s also having on the other side of it. So it’s been great.”

Have you joined in on the trash talk being alongside her or when you go up against her in practice? How has that played out?

Hall: “We’ve been on the same side so I’m right behind her just echoing whatever she says.”

Did you catch Lisa Leslie singing your praises lately about your competitiveness and game?

Hall: “I didn’t!”

She said this in a positive way. She essentially described you as a player that has that dawg in them. What does that mean to you given what Lisa has meant to the game and what she’s accomplished?

Hall: “That’s huge. You look at the players that came before, especially legends like Lisa. Any positive feedback from her, I am very grateful for. We had one of the TNT broadcast interviews after our shootaround. And she was asking about defense and why I like it. I didn’t have an answer. I said, ‘I don’t know. I’ve just always been that way.’ She was like, ‘Well, that’s because you just have it. Some people have it, and some people don’t.’ So I’m assuming that’s what she was alluding to. But I’ll take any positive words from her all day long.”

With Indiana, what are your takeaways from last season and what do you think it can mean for this upcoming season?

Hall: “Really just trying to continue building our team. Our staff obviously looks a lot different. But I’m just very excited for what we’re building. I’m excited about the fans and the support that we’ve had, not only from the city of Indianapolis, but the whole country. It’s been so fun to go on the road. It’s been so fun to play games at home. So I’m excited to be out there.

You never know what the season is going to look like. It’s always changing. But I’m excited to get on the floor, learn and grow and hopefully have more wins and a longer playoff push.”

Coach Stephanie White described you, Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark as the team’s ‘Core Three. How do you think this continuity is going to help the Fevers’ chances to contend for a title?

Hall: “We’re young in the whole scheme of the league. So there is so much room for us to grow. I think the people that they have brought in are incredible leaders and incredible vets that we’ll have an opportunity to learn from. I’m excited to see where that goes. We’re excited for training camp to start in April and take every day as it comes. But more than anything, we’re looking forward to get together.”

What’s your expectations on what Sophie Cunningham, DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard and Brianna Turner will bring to the team?

Hall: “They’re going to bring everything. We have defense, length, leadership. We have winning and experience in the postseason. All of those things, we’re going to be able to soak up from and learn from. I think it’s only going to help us get better.”

How do you expect Caitlin will build off her rookie season this upcoming year?

Hall: “I’m really excited because I know she’s been putting in a lot of work this offseason. She and I have been in Indiana the whole offseason outside of me being in Miami for Unrivaled. But she’s in the gym. She’s getting stronger. She’s been working on parts of her game that our coaches feel like can really help our offense.

It’s hard to say. She’s had such a great rookie season, but she’s only going to get better. Especially with a player like that that is eager to learn and continue to get better, the sky is the limit. I’m really excited for her and for the season and how she’s going to impact our team.”

What have those workouts entailed?

Hall: “A lot in the weight room and on the court. I don’t give away her secrets that she’s working on. But she’s adding three levels to her game, for sure.”

How about for you personally? After having success your first three seasons in the league, what are your goals for your overall development?

Hall: “Continued efficiency. I had a good stretch in that second half of the season. But hopefully I can have a longer good stretch of shooting from outside. But spreading the floor, that’s going to be the big part for me as a 3-and-D [player]. But also being able to win the closeout hard and have those second options and be more efficient offensively.”

Well, Lexie, here are some light-hearted things to end here. With Sophie now with you, how do you break down the fashion game between, you her and Caitlin?

Hall: “Everyone brings their individual flair, so I’m excited. I’m excited to see. I was bummed because I’m not going to have Erica [Wheeler] to switch outfits with before a game. So we’re going to have to figure out a new tradition.”

Where do you rank your fashion game among you three?

Hall: “Everyone is different and unique in their own ways (laughs).”

Eli Manning asked Caitlin who among her teammates is least likely to pick up the check for a team dinner. Caitlin says that’s you. How do you see it?

Hall: “She just couldn’t say herself. (laughs).”

But you did!

Hall: “Yeah, unbelievable (laughs).”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.