There’s a lot said about Caitlin Clark. Even when she’s projected as the face of the WNBA, she’s torn down with the most absurd commentary. NBA veterans have been outspoken about the undue hate towards the WNBA rookie. LeBron James was the most recent NBA star slam the hate-train Clark and the WNBA rookies are subjected to. Gilbert Arenas followed suit. But while Bron used his son as an example, Gil illustrated the value CC brings that none of her haters can dull.

Gil’s Arena presented some remarkable stats about Clark across only five career games so far. She’s averaging 18 PPG and is in exclusive league with Candace Parker and Sabrina Ionescu as the only rookies with 85+ points, 25+ assists, 20+rebounds in their first  five career games. Also, Clark has sold out every game. From the moment she signed with Indiana Fever, the WNBA online store saw a 2000% rise in revenue, breaking the 2023 sales record in less than a month.

Arenas was near speechless discovering that the Clark effect beat the sales record of an entire season in only five games. Laughing in shock, Arenas asked his panel, “I don’t know if the WNBA girls got Internet?” Which they undoubtedly do. “All they have to do is look… Just look. With her in the league, just five games into it, we sold more merch than all of last year, in five games. So therefore no matter how we feel about the attention she’s getting, our s*** is being sold.” 

That’s a huge factor in why the WNBA was craving Clark as well as the other rookies like Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. The WNBA has struggled to draw viewership to be able to up the salaries of its players. As much as they mourn the top draft picks of 2024 only earning $76,000 a year, the ratings don’t bring in enough. But that is changing with Clark & Co.

Arenas presents a valid argument to explain her impact and negate the hate towards her. But the hate very much exists. Which is why Bron advised her to be thickskinned.

Support rains in for Caitlin Clark

On his podcast with JJ Redick, LeBron James didn’t want the hate towards Clark normalized. He’s seeing his 19-year-old son, Bronny get similar animosity which he handles with grace. So does Clark. “I’m glad that Caitlin has a great head on her shoulders,” Bron had said. He advised Clark to, “be a horse.” That is put on her blinders, tune out the noise, and show up to work. At the end, it only matters as long as Clark plays.

Arenas summed it up well, “Hate the girl all you want, but she’s she’s putting money in your pocket.” Gil’s Arena even illustrated the scary consequences of hating on her unnecessarily. Because the day CC misses games, ticket sales are going to take a plunge.

And the majority want to see Clark play healthy and well. And a potential $28 million Nike deal is a very effective noise canceller.