Caitlin Clark is redefining what it means to be a franchise player, not just for the Indiana Fever but for the entire WNBA. Her return to action from a five-game absence due to a strained left quad was more than a comeback; it was a declaration that the Fever are a legitimate title threat and that Ms. Clark is the heartbeat of the WNBA.

Not since Michael Jordan has anyone in basketball moved the cultural and competitive needle like Ms. Clark. Her 32-point explosion in the Fever’s 102-88 victory over the New York Liberty Saturday in Indianapolis not only gave the defending champions their first loss of the season but also established Ms. Clark as an early MVP candidate.

She lit up the first half with 25 points, turned playmaker in the second half, and orchestrated the biggest win of the season. She finished with 9 assists and 8 rebounds, accounting for 54 of Indiana’s points through her scoring and passing.

“I knew her adrenaline was going to be high,” Indiana coach Stephanie White said. “She’s been itching to get back out there. She carried us in the first half, and everybody else carried us in the second half. Her decision-making was outstanding. She did a really good job of getting everybody involved.  That’s what she does.”

There’s no debate about Ms. Clark’s value to the box score. The Fever were 2-3 in their five games without her, including scoring a season-low 58 points in a blowout loss to Atlanta last week.

On Saturday, she showed why her presence changes everything. She announced her return by draining three straight three-pointers, from 33, 27, and 31 feet, energizing the sellout crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. 

“They all came off my hand feeling really good,” Ms. Clark said. “That’s what you can find confidence in as a scorer and a shooter.”

She also proved her resilience by playing 31 minutes as the Fever avenged a 90-88 loss to the Liberty on May 24, the last game Ms. Clark played before missing games for the first time in her pro career.

“There were a few plays where I felt tired, but other than that, my legs felt really strong,” Ms. Clark said. “I felt in good shape.”

There’s also no debate about her value to the box office. If the WNBA wanted a glimpse into what life would be like without Ms. Clark, it got a taste of it, and it was utterly frightening.

According to USA Today, national television viewership dropped by 55 percent during her absence.  Viewership of Indiana Fever national TV games declined by 53 percent, dropping from an average of 1.81 million before the injury to 847,000.   Put simply, in one game, Ms. Clark proved she’s the league’s most valuable asset.

That should have been proven last year when a financial report estimated Ms. Clark was responsible for 26.5 percent, and estimated $36 million, of the WNBA’s league-wide activity for the 2024 season, including attendance, merchandise sales, and television. One of every six tickets sold in the WNBA is linked to Ms. Clark.

Rachel DeMita, a WNBA analyst, suggested viewers may have stopped watching the WNBA due to how the league and media have handled Ms. Clark’s presence.  The WNBA investigated the conduct of Fever fans, while Ms. Clark has been the target of physical play on the court.

“A lot of people stopped watching because they are boycotting the WNBA,” Ms. DeMita said. “They don’t want to give viewership to any other teams or any other players, whether they like other players on the team or not because of how the media and the league itself have handled Caitlin Clark and how they have treated her fans.”

Fans will have a chance to see plenty of Ms. Clark and the Fever in the coming days.  The Fever are at home against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday, their final game in the Commissioner’s Cup standings, where they are tied with the Liberty at 3-1.  It’s the start of a six-game stretch in 10 days with four of those games on the road.

“For me, it’s just how I recover, especially with the schedule that we have coming up,” Ms. Clark said. “That’s going to be super important. We’re going to be playing a lot of games in a short period. I have to take care of myself to make sure I don’t regress in any way.”