Are other WNBA stars disrespected because of the attention Caitlin Clark receives?

Caitlin Clark reportedly received a $1 million offer to play in Unrivaled, a three on three basketball league, founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. The league plays over a 10-week stretch during the WNBA offseason.

Clark ultimately declined to participate, which focuses the conversation on why she wouldn't play for such a large sum of money. It shifts the narrative away from the WNBA players who have agreed to play.

Caitlin Clark descended onto the WNBA scene like a comet as a rookie. Her every move was documented, shared and dissected for the all the world to see. With that being said, other WNBA players have resumes that far exceed what Clark has accomplished so far in her brief professional career. The attention meter may have shifted too far in one direction.

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Any way you slice it, Caitlin Clark’s arrival in the WNBA has broken any metrics trying to quantify player or league popularity. Sportico reported in August that Indiana Fever attendance was up 265% year over year thanks to Clark’s presence.

Sportico also reported that Fever team jersey sales were up a staggering 1,193% over the 2023 season.

The hard-to-fathom numbers don’t stop there. Fox Sports’ Michael Mulvihill reported that Fever games were watched by an average of 1.178 million people, which was almost three times more viewers than the average figure for other WNBA games.

According to Bleacher Report, the Fever’s Game 2 loss to the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA Playoffs was the most-watched game on cable in the history of the league.

The WNBA has fully capitalized on the surging interest in the league. According to ESPN, they signed a $2.2 billion media rights deal over 11 seasons.

The tidal wave of Clark euphoria has carried over from her college days at the University of Iowa. When her team made it to the 2023 National Championship Game against South Carolina, Marca reported that 18.7 million viewers tuned in.

While it’s hard to deny the impact Clark has had on women’s basketball in general, other players have also made their mark this season and throughout their career. Fellow highly touted rookie Angel Reese also had a successful first professional season with the Chicago Sky.

Reese told the Associated Press that the WNBA’s rise in popularity has several contributing factors. “It’s not just one person. I think people don’t realize that because the narrative out there is that just one person is changing the game. It’s a lot of us. Me, Kamilla (Cardoso), there’s Cameron (Brink), Rickea (Jackson). There’s so many great players, and it’s been long overdue.”

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Shortly after Clark was drafted, three-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson posted, “Psalm 37:7” to social media, which is a verse in the Bible that talks about patience while others are having success.

Wilson told Marie Clarie in July, “I felt like I was mentally tired in that whole whirlwind of people constantly saying ‘A’ja, you’re only known because of Caitlin; we’re only here because of Caitlin.’”

Wilson continued, “That’s great, I get that, but while you’re here I’m not going to let you discredit me or the work that I’ve done, or my teammates or the people who came before have done.”

This is essentially the narrative that was raised when it came time for United States Basketball to finalize the women’s Olympic roster. There were a lot of players who had represented their country multiple times, and who had put together storied WNBA careers. Clark was just getting her story started, and was ultimately left off the team.

There’s a certain element of fascination and wonder whenever a new player or person enters the social consciousness. Granted, Clark has been famous since her college days, but basketball fans were keenly interested to see how it translated in the pros. It’s possible that this will eventually dissipate, or it might continue for her entire career.

Basketball Hall of Famer and NBA analyst Charles Barkley didn’t like how the Clark storyline was trending in the WNBA. He said on a podcast in September, “These ladies, and I’m a WNBA fan, they could not have messed this Caitlin Clark thing up worse if they tried.”

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