Caitlin Clark Returns to Court Just in Time To Fuel Indy’s All-Star Dreams

After missing more than half the season with injuries, Caitlin Clark is expected to return to the active lineup Wednesday when the Indiana Fever meet the Golden State Valkyries in Indianapolis.Ms. Clark has missed the past five games with a groin injury after sitting out five games earlier in the year with a quad injury. The Fever are 9-9 overall and 5-5 when she is not in the lineup.“It’s hard sitting out and watching, so I’m definitely excited to get back out there,” Ms. Clark said at Indianapolis. “I hope to play a decent amount. It just depends on how I feel and how the game goes.”That sound you heard was WNBA executives and media partners exhaling in a sigh of relief. The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game is scheduled for July 19 in Indianapolis, with Ms. Clark headlining the marquee event in her home arena as the leading vote-getter and team captain. Her injury-riddled season was starting to cast a dark cloud of uncertainty over the upcoming festivities, where Ms. Clark is serving as the unofficial host.Naturally, Nike, which signed the basketball star to a $28 million endorsement deal, is looking to capitalize on her star power. The company recently unveiled her exclusive sneaker, which sold out in one day. Nike also erected a 30-story mural on the city’s JW Marriott in central Indianapolis featuring Ms. Clark in mid-shot, with the catchy slogan, “From Downtown In My Town.”Ms. Clark seemed almost embarrassed by the grand gesture. “It’s enormous,” she said, “a little overwhelming.”Yet, the marketing campaign was briefly hijacked earlier this week when a fan-created image began circulating on social media showing Ms. Clark in Nike gear along with the phrase, “Embrace the Hate.” The image, unauthorized by Nike or the WNBA, soon appeared on T-shirts being sold on an unofficial website, creating confusion and a brief social media firestorm.It’s an indication that no matter how much the WNBA wants to focus on the positives as it heads toward its mid-season classic, Ms. Clark remains the focal point of conversations about overexposure, media attention, special treatment, jealousy, and just how good she really is. She might have been the WNBA’s leading All-Star vote-getter, generating a record 1.3 million fan votes, yet, in an anonymous poll, her fellow WNBA players recently voted her the ninth-best guard in the league. A legendary basketball broadcaster, Dick Vitale, called the vote by opposing players “pure jealously.”It’s not just the players. During Ms. Clark’s latest absence, an ESPN analyst, Carolyn Peck, suggested Indiana might be better without her in the lineup. “I think that Indiana is even more dangerous when Caitlin Clark doesn’t play because she’s a ball-dominant guard,” Ms. Peck, a former coach, said last week after the Fever won two straight games with Ms. Clark on the sidelines.Those comments drew plenty of backlash, especially after the Los Angeles Sparks defeated the Fever during the weekend. To Ms. Clark’s fans and followers, Ms. Peck’s comments are another form of the “hate” Ms. Clark has had to endure. It’s why a fake image can seem to have some validity. The image also resembled Nike’s farewell campaign for Kobe Bryant, titled: “Always Love the Hate.”Keeping Ms. Clark healthy enough to compete in the All-Star Game is the central issue. The return against Golden State is the first of five games in seven days before the All-Star break. Several players have already complained about the league’s hectic schedule. “I’m going to try not to overdue it,” Ms. Clark said. “I want to put myself in a good position going forward.”She admitted that sitting out games, like the Fever’s victory in the Commissioner’s Cup, was challenging. She never missed a game during her collegiate career. “You’re way more busy when you’re hurt,” she said. “I’ve been here for hours and hours trying to get my body right and put myself in position to be ready for the rest of the year.”For the league, for television ratings, and the attention on Indianapolis, it’s important for Ms. Clark to stay healthy through All-Star weekend. During her first extended absence, viewership dropped nearly 55 percent, according to USA Today, and her most recent absence coincided with Amazon Prime Video’s launch of its portion of a $2.2 billion media rights deal it had signed with the league.As a team captain for being the top vote-getter, Ms. Clark earned the right to draft her All-Star team. She selected an Indiana teammate, Aliyah Boston, with her first choice. Her other selections for starters were Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson, and Satou Sabally of the Phoenix Mercury. Ms. Clark added another Fever teammate, Kelsey Mitchell, as a reserve.Opposing team captain Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx chose the Liberty’s Breanna Stewart, Atlanta’s Allisha Gray, Seattle’s Nneka Ogwumike, and Dallas rookie Paige Buechers as starters. The league can only hope Ms. Clark stays healthy enough to deliver a show worthy of the hype.

Caitlin Clark Returns to Court Just in Time To Fuel Indy’s All-Star Dreams

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