The master of ceremonies
Nightmare situation
Stop and start
Downward spiral
Round two
Remote control
Mass appeal
Timelines
Flexibility
Paying the price
Financial fall
Playing it safe
Honesty is the best policy
Unusual circumstances
Championship chances
Slippery situation

The master of ceremonies

The WNBA was looking forward to Caitlin Clark acting as the master of ceremonies during 2025 All-Star Weekend in Indiana.

Nightmare situation

While Clark was present and engaged, she was unable to participate because of injury. It was exactly what the league hoped would not happen.

Stop and start

It's been virtually impossible for Caitlin Clark to establish any sort of rhythm during the 2025 WNBA season.

Downward spiral

The Indiana Fever superstar missed nearly three weeks of action from June into early July with a groin strain.

Round two

After Clark and the team thought they were in the clear, she suffered yet another groin ailment in mid-July in a game against the Connecticut Sun.

Remote control

The summer has been a depressing one for Fever fans, but the WNBA might have been even more devastated by Clark's consistent injuries. According to the Fever’s team website, the team was scheduled to play 41 out of their 44 regular season games on national television. The league was counting on Clark driving ratings to a broad audience for these contests, but any game she missed was negatively affected.

Mass appeal

While it’s obvious that star players attract viewership, Clark’s gravitas goes above and beyond her peers. According to Yahoo Sports’ Jack Baer, 23 WNBA games drew over one million viewers during the 2024 campaign. Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever were involved in 20 of them.

Timelines

The groin issues are not the only ailment Clark has dealt with this season. She missed time in early June as well due to a left quad strain.

Flexibility

If Clark ever had to miss a month or more, the league might have had to make some changes on the fly. For example, they might have bumped the Fever from national television contests in order to feature games with other healthy stars. It’s not clear how much flexibility the WNBA has in this regard.

Paying the price

It’s not just the television equation that had the potential to be radically thrown off. Certain Indiana games were moved to larger arenas to accommodate bigger crowds, and fans were happy to pay more money to see them play. It’s not Fever-specific data, but Victory Live reported in April that WNBA ticket prices were up 43 percent year over year from 2024 to 2025.

Financial fall

Those metrics drastically changed since the injury to Clark was announced. According to TickPick data analyzed by USA Today, Fever tickets were 71 percent more expensive before the injury was announced than they were after.

Playing it safe

Coach White has made it very clear during each injury incident that Clark would not see the floor again until she felt 100 percent healthy. She told reporters early in the season, “Obviously, everyone wants to watch her play. But for me, it’s maintaining perspective. It’s making sure that we address this in a way that doesn’t affect her long-term health. That we take care of it, don’t over-push, don’t over-exert.”

Honesty is the best policy

White continued, “Making sure that we take the long-game approach to this so that we’re not having lingering issues throughout the course of the season, and I’m glad that, you know, sometimes great players don’t tell you that they’re hurting. I’m glad that she did, because we need to nip this in the bud.”

Unusual circumstances

Caitlin Clark never misses games. She didn’t miss a game in her entire college career at the University of Iowa, and played in every game of her rookie WNBA season. In addition to her talent, her durability has also been one of her greatest strengths.

Championship chances

The Indiana Fever had big dreams heading into the 2025 WNBA season. They were hoping to take the next step in the postseason and bring home a title for their fans. During Caitlin Clark’s 2024 rookie campaign, the Fever made the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

MV-Phee

Yahoo Sports’ Ben Fawkes has reported that WNBA MVP oddsshifted in light of Clark’s injury situation early in the year. Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx took over as the favorite after the Fever star went down. It shows that there are some legitimate individual ramifications as well if Clark continues to get banged up.