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
ArticlesFeaturedWNBABy Qwame Skinner on

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.

People were interested in these podcasts
Discover more podcasts →
Play Episode
66min
The Play-By-Play
Fox Sports lawsuit, WWE on Netflix, Jason Kelce's late night debut
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/playbyplay for 10% off your first month and get on your way to being your best self.Fox Sports is rocked with a sexual battery and discrimination lawsuit. "WWE Raw" makes its long-awaited debut on Netflix. Jason Kelce's late night show was a dud. Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen discuss these topics and more with AA's Drew Lerner on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-1:02: Jerry Jones acting-2:56: Fox Sports lawsuit-26:46: “WWE Raw” Netflix debut-47:27: “They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce” debut-58:12: Amazon hires Dirk Nowitzki-1:00:15: Jalen Rose calling first NBC game-1:03:25: Amazon hires Blake GriffinYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
NBA All-Star Game panned, NHL 4 Nations Face-Off praised
The NBA and NHL made changes to their All-Star Game format. One worked, one didn't. More podcasts are becoming TV programming. Will the trend continue? Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod, Brendon Kleen, and Drew Lerner discuss these topics and more, including Caitlin Clark's agent speaking out on the WNBA on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-1:30: Are All-Star Games fixable? -13:35: NHL 4 Nations Face-Off-21:30: Podcasts as TV programming-36:52: RSN’s-52:09: MLS/Apple restricts Fox to two Inter Miami games/season-56:10: Bela Bajaria talking Netflix and NFL on “The Town”-59:41: Caitlin Clark’s agent saying WNBA should split from NBAYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
NBA ‘Face of the League’ talk, Trump controlling sports world, Cena turns heel
A discussion about who's the face of the NBA devolved into the usual NBA discourse. President Donald Trump is anywhere and everywhere in the sports world. John Cena shocked everyone by becoming a bad guy in WWE. Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen discuss these topics and more on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-:37: NBA “Face of the League” talk fueling negative discourse-25:01: Donald Trump controlling the sports world-42:16: John Cena turns heel-54:27: NBA Centel disappeared and returned to X-1:00:21: Giving up X posting for LentYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
ESPN fires RG3 and Sam Ponder, Ariel Helwani partners with Yahoo, Mina Kimes vs. Clay Travis
On the first episode of The Play-By-Play, Awful Announcing's Brendon Kleen and Ben Axelrod discuss ESPN firing Robert Griffin III and Sam Ponder, Ariel Helwani announcing that he's partnering with Yahoo Sports and the social media feud between ESPN's Mina Kimes and Clay Travis.Time Stamps:-:06: Welcome to The Play-By-Play!-3:03: Podcasting-18:49: Ariel Helwani partners with Yahoo Sports-33:51: Mina Kimes vs. Clay Travis-47:00: WWE superstar Sheamus is College GameDay's first celebrity guest picker of the season.-50:49: Stephen A. Smith interviews Tom Brady at Fanatics FestYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

View all posts by Qwame Skinner