Caitlin Clark’s Star Power Benefits WNBA — and Her Boyfriend, Connor McCaffery

The unyielding spotlight that follows Caitlin Clark shines on more than just herself. Look closely enough and the attention, notoriety and general fandom she receives is not only benefitting her fellow WNBA players, it’s also gracing her boyfriend, Connor McCaffery.Mr. McCaffery was hired Monday as an assistant coach for Butler University’s men’s basketball team, prompting an Instagram nod from Ms. Clark that read “Yayy!!. So happy for you.”It’s uncertain how much if any their personal relationship had to do with Mr. McCaffery landing his first coaching job since graduating from Iowa last year, but it likely didn’t hurt. The recognition he receives from being the boyfriend of one of basketball’s biggest stars is likely to help with recruiting.While Mr. McCaffery prepares for his new gig, the WNBA season heads toward what will be the most-watched post-season in the history of the league. That’s easy to predict because everything else has been recording-setting when it comes of Mr. Clark’s rookie season.She set the WNBA rookie season scoring record when her Indiana Fever defeated Dallas 110-109 in their regular-season home finale Monday night in Indianapolis. She has totaled 761 points, heading into Thursday’s regular season finale at Washington, passing the previous record of 744 set by Seimone Augustus in 2006. Ms. Clark also posted a career-high of 35 points during the game, the fourth time this year she has scored 30 points or more. While averaging 19.5 points per game during the season, Ms. Clark is also establishing a new WNBA single-season assist record, now at 329 and counting.The Fever (20-19) clinched the No. 6 seed in their first post-season appearance since 2016. Their regular-season finale is Thursday at Washington. The Fever’s first-round opponent in the playoffs is yet to be determined.“I think once we get there it’ll feel a little more real,” Ms. Clark said after beating Dallas. “Obviously, we’re not just happy to be there. We really feel like and believe we can compete with every single team that’s going to be in the playoffs.”While Ms. Clark, the probable Rookie of the Year, has lived up to the hype, the attention she has received has lifted the profile of others beginning with her teammates Kelsey Mitchell, who scored 30 points against Dallas and have averaged a career-high 19.6 points this season.“Kelsey makes my life easier out there,” Ms. Clark said. “It’s hard to pick and chose when both of us are on. It puts the defense in a really tough spot. I think we really read and understand each other better than we did earlier in the season. The amount of backdoor cuts she’s gotten just because we make eye contact is incredible.”Ms. Mitchell, who made her second All-Star team this year, has clearly benefitted from Ms. Clark’s talents as a scorer and ball-handler. “Me and C-Square try to do a great job of piggy-backing our games off one another,” she said. “It’s just based on how teams play us.”Ms. Mitchell, the Fever’s first-round pick in 2018, said reaching the playoffs for the first time in her career is a significant achievement. “Hats off to our group, and hats off to the season so far,” Ms. Mitchell said. “I look forward to hopefully a really good run for us in playoffs. I’m grateful because I know where I started and I know where I’m at now.”Also benefitting from the eyeballs Ms. Clark has brought the WNBA is Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson. The WNBA knew what a special player she is. Now everyone knows. The likely the league MVP for a third time, Ms. Wilson became the first player in league history of score more than 1,000 points in a season.Heading into Tuesday’s game at Seattle, Ms. Wilson was averaging 27 points and 12 rebounds per game, well beyond her career average of 21.1 and 9.2 coming into the season. With the Aces trying to win a third-straight WNBA title, Ms. Wilson and her team are likely to get almost as much attention as Ms. Clark during the post-season, which begins Sept. 22. It’s something she relishes.“People don’t understand the trenches that we were in during games when it wasn’t a sellout crowd and they were giving free tickets away,” Ms. Wilson said this week. “No one was there for those moments. So to have this moment and see us grow it’s so special. You look back and think, ‘Wow, we really built this from the ground up and nobody will ever be able to take that away.”The spotlight will also be on the New York Liberty, the Minnesota Lynx and the Connecticut Sun the top three seeds. It’s no longer just about Ms. Clark. It’s about winning a trophy.

Caitlin Clark’s Star Power Benefits WNBA — and Her Boyfriend, Connor McCaffery

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