“For me, the most dangerous thing of Caitlin Clark is her passing ability.” The head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks, Dawn Staley, has recognized the dynamic gameplay of Caitlin Clark. Besides praising her on-court abilities, Staley has shown her support to the professional guard on numerous occasions. She has even defended the athlete for her major contributions to women’s basketball. And this time was no different.

Joining former first lady Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, on the latest episode of the IMO podcast, the Gamecocks HC did not shy away from praising the athlete. Having played against Clark during her college days, even Staley failed to shake off the nationwide impact of Clark and how it has uplifted women’s basketball in unspeakable ways.

So, when co-host Craig Robinson asked on what makes the W popular now, Staley pointed fingers at Clark. “Well, I think it’s been popular. I think you have players like a Caitlin Clark. She brings a lot of eyeballs to our sport, a lot of them,” the HC said. “So much so that now you’re seeing the rest of the league and how good and talented our women are that represent the WNBA.”

Coach Staley stressed the fact that the league and its players owe their popularity to Clark. The Indiana Fever guard possessed the ability to dictate viewership ratings ever since she entered the pros. Her presence during the 2024 drafts plummeted viewership ratings and subsequently led to high ticket sales. But her absence this season has equally affected the league. Fans stopped consuming the regular games when the athlete was sidelined for the first time this season. This led to a drastic 53% dip in the viewership ratings.

“Like, we played Caitlin Clark’s Iowa team on national in 2024, the highest ever. I think it tapped out at 24 million. Most watched game ever, right? And I know a lot of people were tuned in to see Caitlin, but what they saw was a South Carolina team that was super talented, that was on an undefeated run,” Staley shared. “And I knew they walked into something that didn’t really know what was about to happen. So I think it’s cool that the new eyes, eyeballs are coming to our sport, and they’re seeing how very talented our players are.”

After all, it was Clark’s effortless charm and remarkable gameplay that attracted swarms of fans and forced the CBA into signing a $2.2 million deal last season. And the deal was just the tip of the iceberg. The ever-growing popularity of the league has led to a meteoric rise in the revenue streams. And this has directly benefitted the franchises associated with the W. While Cathy Engelbert’s expansion plans are worth $250 million per team, the existing 13 teams are not far behind.

According to Sportico, the market value of WNBA teams increased by an average of 180% when compared to last year. Having said that, the teams are collectively worth an average of $3.5 billion in 2025, with each franchise worth $269 million. The current valuation stands at more than $96 million than what an average team was worth last year. This dramatic increase is more than “double the previous biggest year-over-year gain for a major sports league.”

As the newest expansion team, the Golden State Valkyries emerged as the highest valued team at $500 million, closely followed by the New York Liberty at $420 million and the Indiana Fever at $335 million, respectively. Is this the result of Caitlin Clark’s widespread popularity? Is the league banking on the star’s popularity and increasing eyeballs for generating more revenue? Guess we’ll never know. But one thing is for sure. Fans will come pouring towards the league for as long as Clark is associated with the W. But Clark has had a tough season this year.

Caitlin Clark’s Return Looks Bleak So Far

The Indiana Fever head coach, Stephanie White, crushed any hopes of Caitlin Clark’s injury return recently. The HC clearly denied any development in the athlete’s recovery and hinted at the bleak possibility of the guard’s comeback. While fans can no longer wait till Clark joins the active roster, White’s latest statement came as a hard-hitting blow.

“No return to practice. She’s been able to get a little bit more in her full-court running with all of her body weight,” White said. While the third time is supposed to be the charm, the saying does not seem to work in favor of Fever or Clark. However, the head coach highlighted Clark’s progress during the practice sessions.

Despite failing to join her teammates at practice, Clark is now able to run full-court. While the athlete is still coping with her injury this season, can Indiana Fever navigate through the playoffs without the star? With a recovery rate this slow, chances of re-integrating the star athlete into the active roster looks bleak so far.