Earlier, when Clark declined to join a hyped-up NBA All-Star Weekend 3-point shootout with none other than Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, alongside Sabrina Ionescu, no less, some eyebrows were raised. Why skip that golden ticket? But for those paying attention, it wasn’t a snub. Clark, simply, wasn’t chasing crossover clout. She just wanted her very first 3-point contest to be in the WNBA, in Indianapolis, where she believed the moment mattered more. Even Sheryl Swoopes made her respect known loud and clear then. “I respect that,” Swoopes said, pointing out the contrast between Clark and Ionescu. “Because Sabrina did the opposite, right?”

Well, come this year, and the moment is finally all decked up, waiting to arrive. Caitlin Clark will be headlining the All-Star game, and yes, she has accepted the invitation to participate in the 3-pointer contest. A decision which, according to her, was a no-brainer. While talking about her participation, Clark also took the opportunity to talk about the rumors and narratives that began with her call last year. “I know there was a narrative going around that I didn’t want to do that at one point, which I’m not sure who made that up, but that’s false, because I am doing it,” she said on Tuesday ahead of the matchup against the Connecticut Sun. “I was just saving my first three-point competition in my own city. Whoever said that, that was a lie.”

But all that doesn’t seem to bother her much.

As per Clark, “at the end of the day, it’s just really not that deep or that serious, so just go out there and have fun and shoot it. It’s just a ball of hope in a rack, I guess, and just have fun doing it.” Well, Clark will be joining the court for this fun with Sabrina Ionescu, who hit 25 out of 27 shots and dropped 37 points – a number so ridiculous it made both WNBA and NBA shooters scared. Then there’s Allisha Gray, who’s returning not just to compete but to defend two crowns. Last season, she snuck past Jonquel Jones in a 22-21 match and then outran Sophie Cunningham in the Skills Challenge by just two seconds.

Others running for glory will be Washington rookie Sonia Citron and LA’s Kelsey Plum, who’s no stranger to lighting it up from deep. And speaking of pay, Aflac’s in the mix this year, offering an extra $5,000 to the 3-point contest winner. So, Clark was right when she said, “The lineup of people competing is tremendous so more than anything its going to be really great for our league and women’s basketball as a whole.”

Caitlin Clark’s Star Shining Bright

The impact Caitlin Clark has had since entering the WNBA is unheard of. Both in sporting and commercial aspects, she is leading the league to new and never-before-seen heights. From breaking many records as a rookie to signing an unprecedented Nike deal, Clark has broken many barriers in her short career so far. But the biggest impact she has had is the increase in league visibility since her arrival. 

While this impact cannot be quantified, her popularity among the fans can be. To give an example, Caitlin Clark made the All-Star Game as a starter in her rookie year. Sure, this is not unheard of, as many players before her had also achieved this, but the amount of fan votes she got was unprecedented. In her rookie year, CC got a league high, 700,735 votes. This number was a record for a rookie. 

Yes, her record was broken this year by Paige Bueckers with 805,471 votes. But, as she often does, Caitlin Clark made a new record. With 1,292,526 votes, she became the player with the most votes received in an All-Star voting cycle in the league’s history. As a result, she was named as one of the two team captains, with Napheesa Collier being the other one. 

Even during the 2024 All-Star game, she broke the record for most assists in the game by a rookie. With her being a team captain this year and the weekend being held at her home court, there are sure to be a lot more viral moments happening around the weekend. Will Caitlin Clark lead her Team Clark to victory? Will she win the 3-point contest? All the questions will be answered over the weekend.