WNBA All-Star 2025: Caitlin Clark balances injury disappointment with 'soaking all this in' at home All-Star Game
It's been a frustrating week for Caitlin Clark, the de facto chair of the first 2025 WNBA All-Star to be held in Indianapolis. The Indiana Fever point guard performed duties as honorary host, and continued those responsibilities despite her late scratch from the game itself.
'I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to participate last night and won't be able to participate tonight, but still getting to be around and be a part of everything is really important for myself and for the fans,' Clark said ahead of performing captain duties for the WNBA All-Star Game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday night.
Clark sustained a groin injury earlier in the week in a win over Connecticut. She did not play in the next night's game in New York and announced on Thursday she would not participate in the on-court All-Star weekend festivities.
It hasn't meant she's been absent. Fever teammates said on Friday they were glad to get her smiling this weekend, from parties to appearances on the popular 'Stud Budz' broadcasts by Natisha Hiedeman and Courtney Williams.
Clark led All-Star practices on Friday morning, though neither she nor captain Napheesa Collier gave them much preparation advice. It is her second All-Star, but first in the captain-versus-captain format. A year ago, she led Team WNBA to a win over Team USA ahead of the Olympics.
'We joke about winning, but at the end of the day, it's not that serious,' Clark said. 'We're going to have a fun time.'
She and Collier engaged in light banter on the podium 90 minutes before tip and jested that the other would be on the losing side by night's end. But none of it was trash talk, they insisted, since they're Midwestern nice kids. It's also been helpful for Clark to have her family and friends in town, she said. Her parents came in for the festivities, as well as former Iowa teammates Kate Martin, Gabby Marshall and Jada Gyamfi.
No matter where anyone went all weekend, Clark and her likeness were everywhere in Indianapolis. She looms large on the weekend from the JW Marriott Indianapolis in the largest-ever banner on the hotel. Closer to Gainbridge, she looks down at the Georgia Street WNBA festivities from a Gatorade banner on top of Harry & Izzy's steakhouse. A mobile billboard made the rounds on Saturday night, showcasing her face on an ad for Eli Lilly and Company.
In person, she handed out basketballs to children at the Wilson pop-up and appeared as a live guest on Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe's podcast, "A Touch More." She appeared on 'Good Morning America' on Friday in addition to the 'Stud Budz' Twitch feed. Until the 3-Point Contest on Friday night, the festivities felt fulfilling.
A monstrous burst of applause met her brief appearance on the Gainbridge video board during the skills competition, her outfit signaling she had more in common with fans than they'd have liked. The long-anticipated showdown with Sabrina Ionescu in the 3-point Contest didn't happen, and Ionescu ousted 2024 champion Allisha Gray to reclaim her crown. Ionescu is the only player to score 30 points in the competition twice.
During introductions on Saturday night, the home crowd roared for their star. In the game, she'll still be a focal point for fans on the sidelines with head coach Sandy Brondello. But when the sun rises Sunday, she'll switch her attention away from balance to basketball.
'I'm not gonna say I've just been getting around the clock treatment,' Clark said. 'I've been still trying to enjoy this weekend, having a balance of that at the same time and soaking all this in. And you know, once tomorrow comes around, we'll completely shift my focus to getting as healthy as possible.'
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