How should the WNBA prepare for Caitlin Clark’s second season in the league?

Caitlin Clark’s rookie season has featured a whirlwind of attention that has catapulted the WNBA into a new light. Clark has grown by leaps and bounds in her first professional season, but the WNBA can also learn some important lessons from the experience of dealing with a megastar. All statistics are sourced from Basketball Reference.

Caitlin Clark’s legendary competitiveness has been apparent since her days in college at the University of Iowa. She gives her all each and every time she steps out on the floor, which is one reason why she’s so popular. However, that burning desire led her down a slippery slope with regard to technical fouls in her rookie season.

Clark was assessed six technical fouls during the WNBA regular season, which fell one short of the seven threshold that triggers an automatic one-game suspension. She told Sports Illustrated that she needed to do a better job of controlling her emotions after a crucial September contest. It was a constant theme throughout the regular season.

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It’s going to be a two-way street for Clark and WNBA officials heading into her second season. The Daily Mail spoke about sports analyst Jason Whitlock, critiquing Clark for losing her temper at the worst times. That can’t happen at the same frequency moving forward, but officials will also need to stay away from calling technical fouls in relatively mundane situations.

Clark received technical fouls in 2024 for expressing frustration at the basket stanchion, which can probably be avoided in 2025. It’s unlikely that Clark is going to significantly tone down the conversation with referees in year two, so they may have to turn a deaf ear to her complaints. This is generally what NBA referees do with Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who also has a tendency to talk about fouls throughout the game.

Like all sports leagues, the WNBA is star-driven. Any games Clark misses due to injury or suspension will reduce the interest in the WNBA, so they should take reasonable steps to ensure she is available for most of the games.

WNBA Cathy Engelbert said in an interview with CNBC that rivalries are good for sports, which is something that has rung true for a long time. Fox Sports wrote in July 2024 that a rivalry between Caitlin Clark and fellow rookie star Angel Reese is crucial for the WNBA’s continued success.

Angel Reese is the natural pick to balance Caitlin Clark, given the pair’s history going up against one another in high-leverage college basketball games. We’ll see if Reese and the Chicago Sky can improve enough to make the playoffs, and if the Fever can improve their standing as well. Fans would likely see right through a manufactured narrative if Reese and Clark’s teams both aren’t vying for the same thing.

While the WNBA and fans hope that Reese and the Sky emerge as a legitimate rival, the league may not have to wait too long to drum up a real rivalry. The Fever were ousted in the WNBA playoffs by the Connecticut Sun, who had a couple of players that Clark seemed to be less than thrilled with.

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Playoff history is almost a necessity for rivalries to build, so the WNBA should look to mention the physical play of Connecticut’s DeWanna Bonner and DiJonai Carrington as much as possible next season. Clark lightly shoved Bonner away early in Game 2 as Bleacher Report covered, and Carrington poked Clark in the eye in Game 1.

NBA history is littered with storylines about great players overcoming veteran teams to get to the promised land. The Sun are in Clark’s way, and the WNBA should schedule Sun-Fever games in primetime next season to maximize interest in these games.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert took a lot of heat for not denouncing racism coming from fans who tended to support Caitlin Clark. USA Today wrote about the bevy of WNBA players who were disappointed by Engelbert’s dispassionate response to a problem that continues to be prevalent in society.

Engelbert’s response seemed to imply that since the WNBA was making money hand over fist, the societal issues and rhetoric being communicated as a result were acceptable and par for the course. The WNBA and Engelbert herself can learn from this experience, and take stronger stances to make their position abundantly clear.

The league will have to be careful so as not to blame or criticize Clark in this area, or make personal statements against the people themselves. It’ll be important for them to focus on the unflattering behavior in particular, to avoid any uncomfortable reactions like the one Engelbert just received.

Leading up to the WNBA playoffs, The Daily Mail highlighted a decision by the league that seemed to miss the basket, pun intended. They promoted a playoff graphic with all eight teams, and one player from each team. The Fever section featured Kelsey Mitchell rather than the uber-popular Clark.

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Mitchell is a great player in her own right as a two-time All-Star who averaged a career high 19 points per game in 2024. However, Clark may already be the face of the league, and the WNBA can’t afford to let chances to get her face out there go by the wayside. At worst, it could have confused casual fans, wondering if Clark was going to miss the playoffs for some reason.