The Caitlin Clark Effect is the real deal, and so is the WNBA
Advertisement
Last year's first-ever WNBA game at the Garden was a rousing success. In front of a sell-out crowd of 19,125, the Sun downed the Los Angeles Sparks, 69-61, in an electric and historic atmosphere. But it wasn't shown on national television, much to the dismay of then-Sun guard and 2024 WNBA Most Improved Player DiJonai Carrington. She called that out.
Advertisement
The league offered Sun vs. Sparks, one of the league's worst teams last season,
That's the Caitlin Clark Effect.
'I've had a lot of fun being in the spotlight and helping to grow this game and move it forward,' said Clark, prior to her WNBA debut. 'That's what I'm going to continue to do, but I think I know firsthand how talented this league is — whether it was me as a young kid or whether it's me now playing here — like how many talented players are in this league.
'The more we can share the love, the better this league is going to be.'
Amen.
Boston fans should consider themselves lucky that Clark is slated to hoop in the Hub. She's missed nine games this season, sitting out with quadriceps and groin injuries. Her characteristic long-range shooting flair has been MIA. While she's averaging 16.7 points and 9 assists per game, second in the WNBA, she's only shooting 28.9 percent from 3-point range and 37.4 percent overall.
The Fever, coached by former Sun coach Stephanie White, are an underwhelming 11-10, despite talent that includes Worcester's own aptly-named Aliyah Boston, as well as Kelsey Mitchell. Both joined Clark as WNBA All-Star selections.
That shows you how deep and difficult the WNBA is. It's a league with decorated and dedicated veterans. It's a league where roster spots are so precious that first-round picks aren't guaranteed to make their teams, even if they're not Belichickian busts.
Advertisement
Clark already shares some history with New England's WNBA entry. She made her WNBA debut against the Sun in Connecticut in May 2024, scoring 20 points on 5 for 15 shooting while committing 10 turnovers.
The Fever and the Sun boast more bruising recent history.
The last time Clark played the Sun, she was
That retaliatory rampage was later upgraded by the league to a Flagrant-2 foul. Later in the contentious contest, Fever forward Sophie Cunningham committed a hard foul on Sheldon, leading to another dust-up and the ejections of Cunningham, Sheldon, and Connecticut's Lindsay Allen late in a Fever victory on June 17.
Things were HEATED between the Sun and Fever tonight 😳
-Caitlin Clark T'd up
-Marina Mabrey T'd up
-Jacy Sheldon assessed flagrant
-Sophie Cunningham ejected
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport)
The physical confrontation involving Clark continues a polarizing narrative that the WNBA either isn't doing enough to protect its most marketable commodity or is giving her preferential treatment in a highly-competitive league replete with physical play and uneven officiating.
One thing is for sure, the outcry on social media when Clark was dropped by another white player was muted compared to when she was unceremoniously leveled by
Some conservatives attempted to co-opt Clark to buttress reverse racism and anti-DEI rhetoric. (Ironically, Mabrey was a teammate of Carter's at the time.)
Advertisement
To her credit, Clark rejects being an avatar in the culture wars. Multiple times, she
Regardless of race, there's clearly some animosity – and jealousy — toward Clark. WNBA players voted her a ludicrous ninth among guards on their All-Star ballots. She finished first in the fan balloting and third in the media voting for the game, in which she will be a starter and captain on her home floor; the WNBA's All-Star game takes place in Indianapolis on Saturday.
Against the backdrop of welcoming the WNBA's biggest draw, Tuesday's marquee event resonates as an opportunity for Boston to showcase its worthiness for a WNBA team. Earlier this month,
Unfortunately, the rebuilding Sun are foils for the Fever. They enter Tuesday's WNBA Garden party with the league's worst record (3-18). Only Mabrey, absent since suffering a knee injury on June 20, and
Even White will be on the other sideline this time. But her words about the appeal of the WNBA, epitomized by the captivating Clark, ring true.
'We always say in women's basketball, if you watch us once, you will continue to come back.'
Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
28 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Caitlin Clark didn't get to explore Boston much, but it's safe to say she likes the Celtics' style
'Well, maybe, I guess you could hate 'em,' she said to laughs. 'I think, for myself, the Celtics [are] one of the premier organizations of the NBA. You always grow up knowing what the Celtics are about, and obviously, having won a championship two years ago now, it's kind of cool to just be in this building and … surround yourself with the greatness that has played in this arena.' Advertisement Clark shouted out a few players — Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Jaylen Brown, the latter of whom was among the sold-out crowd of 19,156. Related : 'They shoot a lot of threes, which, maybe people make an argument against, but for myself, I think that's fun,' she said. (Sounds like Joe Mazzulla would be a Clark fan.) 'I enjoy that, I think it's a great style of basketball. So, I think anytime you come into an arena and there's just so much history hanging from the rafters, you certainly look up and soak it in.' Clark and the Fever flew into Boston after their win Sunday over the Wings in Dallas, so she didn't have much time to explore the city before preparing for Indiana's eventual 85-77 win over Connecticut. She and teammate Lexi Hull ate at Earl's Kitchen + Bar near their hotel in the Back Bay, but Clark 'didn't really get to do a ton.' Advertisement Clark checked the Red Sox schedule to see if they were in town and she struck out. MLB is on its All-Star break. Related : 'I would have loved to go to a Red Sox game and seen Fenway. I guess I could have gone to Fenway and looked at it with no people in it, but I didn't do that,' she joked. She said she'd like to come back and explore Boston's history. 'I honestly was on TikTok, [searching] the best things to do in Boston, just so I can see even though I'm not going to do them. And I think that's what's fun about going to these new places in these new cities, you get to experience the culture and the people that are here too.' Katie McInerney can be reached at
USA Today
28 minutes ago
- USA Today
Lip-readers think Caitlin Clark shouted NSFW words at a ref: 'Grow up!'
It wasn't the happiest of victories for the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night. Sure, they won 85-77 over the floundering Connecticut Sun, but Caitlin Clark got injured again and it didn't look good. Forget about All-Star and the 3-Point Contest she's supposed to be in -- the hope is that she's OK for the Fever. But it was in that game that Clark appealed angrily to a referee about something. I honestly don't know what it was about, but lip-readers had a field day with a couple of videos. They think she cursed at the official as she was held back: "Are you [expletive] kidding me?" She also apparently told him to "grow up." And somehow she wasn't given a technical foul. But wow, this got heated. What was it about? We have no idea. What did Caitlin Clark say to this referee? In the video above, someone thought it was "That has nothing to do with it. Are you [expletive] kidding me?" and "That's just rude. Grow up! Unbelievable." This one below has more captioning: Just wild.
UPI
28 minutes ago
- UPI
Watch: MLB honors Hank Aaron with high-tech recreation of 715th homer
The Atlanta Braves celebrate Hank Aaron's 715th home run in a seventh-inning tribute during the 2025 MLB All-Star game on Tuesday at Truist Park in Atlanta. Photo by Mike Zarrilli/UPI | License Photo July 16 (UPI) -- More than 41,000 fans, including the late Hank Aaron's widow, were awed during the sixth inning of the 2025 All-Star Game as MLB honored the baseball icon with a high-tech recreation of his 715th home run in Atlanta. The lights went dark during a break Tuesday at Truist Park. Projections detailing the April 8, 1974, achievement then glowed on the field, as the voice of legendary broadcaster Vin Scully blared through the stadium speakers. "It doesn't take a mind reader to read the collective mind that's here in this ballpark tonight," Scully said in the recording from that night at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, when Aaron passed Babe Ruth to become baseball's career home runs leader, at that time. "They came to see him pass the Babe." The field lit up with "now batting, #44," before showing Aaron wiggling his bat on another projection between the base paths. A virtual Aaron, who faced Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers Al Downing during the exchange, smacked a projection of a giant baseball to left center field in a reenactment of the famous scene. MLB used a pyrotechnic spark, which blasted toward the outfield fence, at the point of contact as the scoreboard flashed the No. 715. Footage of Aaron rounding the bases showed on the field as the Truist Park crowd cheered on for the baseball legend. "I think that people can look at me and say, 'he's a great baseball player, but he's even a greater human being,'" Aaron said in a video shown on the scoreboard at the end of the sequence. Aaron, who died in 2021 at 86, totaled 755 home runs during his decorated baseball tenure. The 1982 Hall of Fame inductee ranks second all-time in career home runs, trailing only Barry Bonds (762). Aaron remains MLB's record holder for RBIs, extra-base hits and total bases. He hit .305 over 23 seasons.
