The WNBA might be getting one of its biggest stars back just in time.
The Indiana Fever are set to take on the Minnesota Lynx for the Commissioner’s Cup — the WNBA equivalent of the Emirates NBA Cup — but there has been concern over the availability of Caitlin Clark for the contest.
Clark is hoping she can return from injury to battle Collier and the Lynx in the Commissioner’s CupGettyThe two-time All-Star has been sidelined since June 24 with a groin injury having taken a fall in the Fever’s win over the Seattle Storm, but is listed as ‘questionable’ for arguably the biggest game of her career to date, with $500,000 on the line.
Having already missed a total of seven games in the 2025 season due to a quad injury and then the groin, the Fever are hoping they aren’t without their best player for the contest against the reigning cup winners.
Clark last provided an update on Sunday after practice, claiming that she felt good.
“Doing everything I can to put myself in a position to play the next game every single time,” Clark said.
“That’s always my goal is to be available for the next game.
“Doing everything I can with the medical staff to be able to get my body right to be able to do that. But yeah, I feel good and just going day-by-day.”
However, Fever head coach Stephanie White has taken a more conservative approach, stating that her main focus is to ensure that her star player doesn’t suffer any unnecessary injury setbacks.
“We still don’t know [if Clark will play]. It’s a day-to-day thing,” White said to reporters after practice on Monday.
“Did some stuff at practice today, making sure we don’t have any setbacks. We got to be smart about this. We’ll evaluate tomorrow morning at shootaround.”
Clark became one of the faces of the WNBA before she was even drafted.
Clark is one of the faces of the WNBAGetty Clark and Reese both featured in last year’s All-Star game, against Team USASince then, the league’s popularity has soared, and that has largely been attributed to the reigning Rookie of the Year.
However, some have argued that Clark’s fellow draft class star — and rival — Angel Reese’s own stardom and popularity has led to such a spike in the growth of women’s basketball, perhaps even more so than that of Clark.
But, the announcement of the 2025 WNBA All-Star starters would appear to indicate otherwise.
Clark, the former Iowa guard, was announced as one of the two All-Star game captains, alongside Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier.
She achieved this by receiving a record 1,293,526 fan votes, more than the entire 2023 All-Star team combined, though she controversially ranked ninth place for guards among the players’ vote.
That is three places below her back-court partner, Kelsey Mitchell, and highlights the disparity between her popularity among fans and players.
Clark’s Fever teammate Mitchell got more votes in the player’s All-Star voteGettyReese, on the other hand, was not named as one of the 10 starters, falling just shy by coming fifth in the front-court fan voting.
There was also a starting spot available for rookie sensation Paige Bueckers, who is the only rookie announced so far to be named an All-Star, having posted an average of 18.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per contest.
But, the All-Star starters news wasn’t the biggest headline in the WNBA on Monday.
That title goes to the WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s announcement of three brand new expansion teams with Detroit, Philadelphia, and Cleveland confirmed as the markets, bringing the WNBA to 18 teams by 2030.
Per Front Office Sports, the three new teams paid $250 million to enter the league — a record-high.
This is five times as much as both the Golden State Valkyries and Toronto Tempo paid ($50 million) and double what the Portland WNBA franchise paid ($125 million).
Including both the cost of the expansion fee and new practice facilities, it is estimated that the three new franchises’ investments will exceed $300 million each.
“This is far more than an expansion of our league, it’s an evolution,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “This is a bold step forward as we grow our footprint, create more opportunities for players and inspire the next generation of fans around the globe.”
Whilst this news means greater opportunity for players within the WNBA, this also means fiercer competition between the biggest names in the sport, such as Bueckers, Reese, and Clark.
That means only one thing — the WNBA will enter a brand new stratosphere of exposure, drama, and competition, and, in turn, that will have seismic economic effects for the league as a whole, its teams, and its players.
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