Clark earns Woods and Swift comparisons while away | Sports News

Caitlin Clark has been likened to celebrities like Taylor Swift and Tiger Woods for the extent of consideration she brings to the WNBA. Clark, the league’s most sought-after participant, has ignited a revolution within the WNBA.

The 6-foot guard joined the league as the highest choose within the 2024 draft following an extraordinary record-setting stint at Iowa, the place she grew to become the highest-scoring participant in NCAA historical past, regardless of gender. She shortly earned the WNBA Rookie of the Year award after guiding the Indiana Fever to the playoffs.

Despite being named a WNBA All-Star captain, Clark’s second season has been hampered by accidents, with the soon-to-be two-time All-Star persevering with her restoration off-court.

After lacking 5 video games on account of a left quadriceps harm, Clark made a triumphant return towards the New York Liberty. Her efficiency, which included a sequence of three-pointers resulting in a 32-point recreation, went viral.

However, the harm bug struck again, inflicting her to overlook more video games. This unlucky lack of court docket time is a blow to the WNBA and its viewership, on condition that Clark is arguably the most well-liked participant ever to affix the league.

Christine Brennan, writer of ‘On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports,’ has mentioned the guard’s outstanding affect on the WNBA. She likened the long queues Clark attracts to these seen at Swift’s occasions.

“I’ve covered women’s sports and sports for a long time, and I never thought I’d see this in my lifetime,” Brennan expressed to ABC News. “People standing in line in January like it’s a [Bruce] Springsteen concert or a Taylor Swift concert to watch a woman play basketball. This is a whole different level in women’s team sports.”

Brennan went on to liken Clark’s monumental influence on the WNBA and ladies’s sports activities at massive to that of Woods, a comparability she has drawn earlier than while discussing how Clark’s absence may considerably have an effect on league viewership. In a dialog with Channel 13, Brennan identified: “It is devastating to the WNBA when Caitlin Clark is out. There may be people out there on X or social media who want to dispute that, but facts are facts and the truth is the truth and the data is there.

“When Caitlin was out the primary time, the 5 video games she missed earlier this season, the WNBA’s viewership dropped more than 50 %. Not simply the Fever, however your complete league,” Brennan highlighted regarding the repercussions of Clark’s prior downtime.

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“I’ve coated Tiger Woods the size of his profession. As massive a deal as Tiger was in males’s golf, and when he was gone it affected the rankings, however nothing like that. And Michael Jordan being out, perhaps 5 share factors or one thing. Nothing like this.”

She further stated: “There is no one single athlete more important to his or her sport or tour or regardless of the circuit is that they play on, than Caitlin Clark is to the WNBA.”

Clark’s season stats embrace an average of 18.2 factors on 39 % taking pictures, a much less spectacular 29.5 % from past the arc, together with 8.9 assists and 5.0 rebounds per recreation. Despite being identified for her distinctive vary, Clark has had a robust time with 3-pointers earlier than taking a break on account of a persistent groin drawback.

Clark’s crew, the Fever, who at present maintain a 9-9 report, are set to face off towards the 9-8 Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday, July 9.