The Caitlin Clark Era has begun.
From basketball to pop culture at large, there seems nothing she won't conquer.
On a whole, the number of athletes that have truly broken into the broader cultural stratosphere is relativity small, even in this, our social media age.
There is always a new celebrity moment: from a highly-publicized rap feud to the fits being worn at the Met Gala.
Caitlin Clark though?
All eyes are looking her way.
And as the WNBA’s Indiana Fever make their season debut on Tuesday night (May 14th), she’ll be the focus.
Not just as the league’s most anticipated player to watch, rookie or not but someone who seems primed to step into that bright spotlight and promptly excel.
She won’t be the first star of the WNBA, obviously, nor the first to hit on something athletes across all sectors can struggle with (mass appeal).
But she does seem uniquely attuned to navigating whatever comes her way. With women’s basketball having been firmly established in the North American sporting space, its star players household names and Clark as the most prominent, “next-up” torch bearer.
She’s yet to play a regular season pro game but has already signed an eight-year deal with Nike worth an estimated $28 million, alongside deals with State Farm and Gatorade, amongst others, per The Guardian.
Her impact, in everything from ticket and jersey sales league-wide to sports gambling, creating an impressive wave of interest: the Fever’s season opener, no doubt buoyed by Clark’s influence, will stream live on Disney+, further boosting what is sure to be an already eager viewership.
She’s one of three players profiled in the new ESPN series, Full Court Press (alongside fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso and UCLA’s Kiki Rice) and prior to her first-overall showing at the WNBA draft last month, appeared on Saturday Night Live, the result of a larger cultural profile she and her personal team (to their credit) have cultivated with tremendous success.
It is her play however, which has rightfully turned the most heads.
Clark, actively personifying the oft-used hyperbole that binds so much of the sport-writer’s thesaurus together - as during her four years at Iowa, she redefined what was possible on the court.
A point guard, who, more so than just controlling the flow of the game, can completely dominate it with an almost supernatural ease.
Writing for USA Today in 2023, columnist Lindsay Schnell compared Clark’s shooting talents to that of NBA superstar Stephen Curry: the understanding that, for any other player, her shot selection, her mind-boggling pull-ups would be a death sentence… but Clark is not just any other player.
The paint. Mid-range. A flurry of deep threes from well beyond the arc, even at half-court.
She is an offence all her own, able to bend the game to her will, the way only a special few can. Complementing her exceptional shooting with terrific vision, passing ability, basketball IQ and a strong on-court presence.
A four-time All-American, who led the NCAA in scoring and assists both, three-times each.
And in March, as her collegiate career neared its end, she made even more history, becoming the highest scoring player to ever play Division I basketball, men’s or women’s.
She surpassed the record set by the great Pete Maravich, whose all-time points total of 3,6777, had been untouched for 54 years (and still leads the men’s division).
Of course, in the interest of transparency: Maravich played only three seasons on the varsity team, per existing NCAA rules, in addition to playing without either the three-point line or the shot clock (which had to be implemented in the NCAA).
But the particulars surrounding Maravich, with all respect to his legacy?
They shouldn’t, in any way, diminish Clark’s accomplishments.
She left Iowa, standing alone, at the absolute apex of the college game: heck, the Hawkeyes have already retired her number 22.
The pros, the WNBA, await.
Clark’s preseason, to be fair, wasn’t without a few missteps. Fever coach Christie Sides has spoken publicly about the adjustments she believes the star rookie will need to make for her game to truly thrive at the next level.
But it is a new season come Tuesday night.
A new era.
Let’s see where Clark takes it.