Caitlin Clark's All-Star Absence Fuels Condensed Schedule Fight

Yahoo

5 days ago

Caitlin Clark will be everywhere this weekend as the WNBA All-Star Game comes to Indianapolis. Except on the court.
Clark was previously committed to compete in Friday's 3-point contest before captaining one of the All-Star teams Saturday. However, after injuring her groin in a game against the Connecticut Sun Tuesday, she will no longer be able to participate, though she will still be in attendance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
More from Sportico.com
Caitlin Clark's Role Expands With Expected Presence at CBA Talks
Sporticast 467: What Is 'Revenue,' Anyway?
All-Star Rookie Duo Gives Mystics Stability Amid 'Uncertain' Future
'I am incredibly sad and disappointed,' Clark wrote in a statement shared by the Indiana Fever online. 'I have to rest my body.'
Clark's presence will be felt regardless. Thirty floors of Indy's JW Marriott hotel have been taken over with an image of the second-year phenom. Indy was awarded the 2025 festivities last summer, as Clark's impact on women's basketball was becoming clear.
Before the on-court action, top players will meet with league leaders on Thursday as the two sides continue negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. Clark has said she plans to attend—and injuries like hers could factor into the discussions.
Clark will be joined by All-Star Satou Sabally, who will also miss Saturday's game, dealing with an ankle injury. In June, Sabally criticized the current schedule as 'not really responsible,' after saying that 'this is a conversation that could also be important for the next CBA.'
Teams are playing a record 44 regular season games this season—not including the Fever and Lynx's Commissioner Cup final—the maximum allowed in the current CBA and up from 40 the previous two seasons. Before the season, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said a 50-game slate remains a possibility as the league grows.
But extending the season's calendar footprint is complicated. WNBA play begins in May, shortly after the end of college hoops, with the Finals taking place in October. Going later into the fall presents additional conflicts with WNBA venues as well as overseas leagues that run through the winter. Teams will play 30 back-to-back games this year, according to acrossthetimeline.com's accounting, up from nine in 2023 (although there were regularly more than 30 in the 2000's and early 2010's). The Minnesota Lynx had two such challenges during a nine-game-in-16 days stretch leading into the All-Star break.
Teams say they're already feeling the effects of the crowded slate. Two of Minnesota's four losses this year came during that recent run. Responding to a recent Instagram post highlighting Sparks guard Kelsey Plum's 4-for-22 3-point shooting slump alongside Clark's 1-for-23 stretch, Plum explained the poor form was because 'we're tired.'
Not to mention, the WNBA has a set roster size of 12 players, which makes rest days more difficult to come by and strains the team when someone gets injured. While franchises have the option to sign a free agent to a hardship contract if the team roster dips below 10 available players due to injury or other absences, the issue remains a discussion point in CBA negotiations.
Liberty forward Jonquel Jones, a former league MVP, is still recovering from repeated ankle injuries in June while All-Star Rhyne Howard will also be sidelined for the next month following a knee injury suffered last week.
'If Cathy [Engelbert] keeps adding more games in this short stint of time, the injuries are going to continue to go up,' Liberty guard Natasha Cloud said in June.
On Wednesday, Liberty coach Sandy Brondello also advocated for a longer season with fewer games per week.
For now, league data does not show a significant uptick in injuries to date in 2025 compared to 2024 through the same number of games. More games obviously come with more injuries, and players see the value in playing more, especially when doing so for full arenas and increased TV dollars.
'We want to play the games,' WNBPA vice president Breanna Stewart said last month. 'I think the hardest part is no matter what, when I was playing 36 games or 32 games it was in the same amount of time as 44 games…. That's one of the biggest talking points in the next CBA.'
NBA players have also voiced their desire for more opportunities to rest and recover over the course of their 82-game regular season, with the number of back-to-backs dropping by roughly 25% since 2014-15.
Clark did not miss a game in college or during her rookie year, but has been forced to sit for multiple stints so far this season. A left quad injury held her out for five games starting in May while a left groin injury cost her five games, including the in-season tournament championship, before her return in July.
Clark was visibly upset as she hobbled to the bench Tuesday. Both she and White have described the mental challenge the 23-year-old has faced while attempting to recover from each setback. Her continued absence also threatens the entire WNBA's growth.
Even with Clark missing 10 of the Fever's 23 games so far in 2025, viewership on the league's national TV partners is up 9% compared to the same timeframe in 2024. But Indiana has featured in all five W games to draw 1 million average viewers—and ratings did reportedly dip after Clark went down.
The Fever's own social performance fell 38% in terms of engagements, with TikTok views per post dropping 80% compared to the two weeks prior to her first injury, according to a new analysis from sports marketing agency Two Circles.
'That kind of drop-off shows how much gravity she brings to the league's content ecosystem,' Two Circles SVP for consulting Laura Andriani said via email. 'For ESPN and advertisers, she helps convert casual viewers into appointment-watch audiences. For sponsors and the league, she represents the surge in cultural relevance and commercial upside that the WNBA is experiencing.'
Last year's All-Star Game, pitting Clark and Angel Reese against the U.S. women's national team on the eve of the Olympics, drew an average of 3.44 million viewers on ABC, up 139% over the league's previous best All-Star game. It was the WNBA's most watched game since its opening weekend in 1997.
Even without Clark, this weekend's matchup is expected to highlight the league's depth of talent, as well as its growing fanbase. But the most interesting showdown in Indy will likely be the one taking place behind closed doors.
Best of Sportico.com
Tennis Prize Money Tracker: Which Player Has Earned the Most in 2025?
Browns Officially Get Public Money for New Stadium in Ohio Budget
WNBA Franchise Valuations Ranking List: From Golden State to Atlanta