Caitlin Clark Jun 23, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) brings the ball up court against the Chicago Sky during the first half of a basketball game at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
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Indiana Fever phenom Caitlin Clark is the face of the WNBA and for good reason.

In her first season as a professional, Clark broke the single-season record for assists and became the first rookie to record a triple-double, which she accomplished twice. Clark didn’t just rack up individual compliments, leading the Fever to the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade.

Clark’s gravity brought record levels of viewership and ticket sales to the WNBA. The revenue that Clark has driven has the league expanding exponentially, as it looks to add several teams over the next few years.

Unfortunately, this growth may come at a heavy cost to Clark herself. Clark has built an unbreakable bond with one of her teammates, but it’s becoming increasingly likely they’ll be separated.

According to one WNBA insider, the first of the new teams to join the WNBA, the Golden State Valkyries, will hold their expansion draft on December 6, and the consequences for Clark could be severe.

“The Golden State expansion draft will be held on December 6 on ESPN, the team announced. Each current W team can protect up to six players from being selected, and the Valkyries will select from a pool of those available players,” Alexa Philippou tweeted.

https://x.com/alexaphilippou/status/1840815219737608374

Although Clark has grown inseparable with wing Lexie Hull there’s no guarantee the Fever will protect her from being poached by the Valkyries in the expansion draft, as she’s more of a complimentary role player.

And if Hull does survive this expansion draft, it’ll be even less likely they protect her in the future ones, as Clark is sure to bring more and more star players to the Fever that they’ll prioritize protecting.

Hopefully, the league does Clark a solid and keeps her best friend off-limits considering everything Clark has done to grow the game.

It’ll be interesting to see how things play out.

About Qwame Skinner

Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. At Next Impulse, Qwame covers sports with the same enthusiasm he brings to his recreational basketball and softball leagues.

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