Caitlin Clark hasn’t had quite the sophomore season she probably hoped for. After a superb close to her rookie year, expectations were sky-high for the WNBA’s most high-profile player. While Clark has undoubtedly demonstrated she’s one of the league’s elite guards — and showcased flashes of brilliance, like a ridiculous three-point barrage against the defending champs earlier this month — she’s also missed time with two different injuries and struggled with her shot as of late.
First, it was a right quad injury, which remarkably marked her first injury sidelining since high school. Clark missed five games with that injury, and the women’s basketball world panicked.
According to USA Today, league-wide national television viewership was down 55% during her time away. Indiana Fever viewership on national TV similarly declined, decreasing by 53% during her absence. It’s hard to find such a needle-mover in any sport, but at this point, Clark’s impact on ticket sales, viewership, and women’s basketball’s popularity as a whole can’t be overstated.
At the same time, just because she massively alters viewership doesn’t mean that the viewership conversation needs to take place each time she is sidelined. Clark’s well-being — mental and physical — comes first, and the WNBA has already secured a long-term media rights deal. Basketball fans should be empathetic fans first, and play the TV executive role second. Clark having to deal with a myriad of injuries sucks for her, and that oftentimes gets overshadowed and overlooked given her larger-than-life role in women’s basketball.
Clark put on a show when she returned from her quad injury, exploding for a season-high 32 points against the Liberty and following that up with a 20-point performance against the Connecticut Sun.
But in her last three games, she struggled to an uncharacteristic degree, shooting just 1-23 from beyond the arc. The discourse — as is typical with all Clark-related storylines — intensified.
But Caitlin Clark is a sniper. Occasional slumps are part of the game. There’s no such thing as a shooter that doesn’t go through cold spells. Maybe it’s an injury, maybe it’s fatigue, or maybe it’s just that — a slump.
“She’ll be fine,” said teammate Lexie Hull after Clark’s tough Tuesday night against the Seattle Storm, in which she scored a season-low 6 points. “We are not worried about it. She’s a great shooter, great player. This happens to every great player.”
We tend to demand answers when shooters struggle. When Steph Curry was in the midst of one of the worst shooting stretches in his career in 2022, exploratory article after exploratory article was written, trying to get to the bottom of why he wasn’t himself.
But there aren’t always satisfying answers. Sometimes, there are just slumps.
On Thursday, the Fever announced that their star guard is dealing with a new injury: a groin injury. The injury doesn’t necessarily explain Clark’s three-game cold spell, but it easily might.
“I think it’s very much a day-to-day thing, how she responds to treatment,” head coach Stephanie White said Thursday morning, per Indy Star’s Chloe Peterson.
Clark could miss just a game or two. Maybe she’ll miss five. Hopefully, it’s not anything serious and she’ll be back sooner.
The league’s television ratings will probably take another dive, based on recent history. But that’s not her problem — she’s just a 23-year-old basketball player with a very long career to look forward to. There’s zero reason to rush when her health is on the line.
Inevitably, Clark will have lots of bad games and lots more (hopefully all minor) injuries in her future. She’ll have plenty of 0-for-7 three-point shooting nights. And, just like when any superstar struggles, there will be plenty of overreactions.
But it’s important to remember the big picture: Caitlin Clark is young. She hopefully has (much) more than a decade of professional basketball ahead of her. She may be the face of women’s basketball, but she shouldn’t have to carry the weight of it with every missed shot, missed game, or injury.
Before being an international icon, she’s a young woman who loves to play basketball. We should remember that before we get into a blood feud about her business value every time she gets hurt or plays well.
