“Next Question”: Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the WNBA’s Reluctant Revolution
In the world of women’s basketball, a simple two-word response—“Next question”—from Angel Reese echoed far beyond the press conference stage. It spotlighted a dynamic reshaping not just the WNBA, but the entire narrative surrounding women’s sports and superstardom.
A year ago, Reese, fresh off her own electrifying NCAA run, had confidently told reporters the reason America was tuning into women’s basketball wasn’t just because of Caitlin Clark—it was because of Reese herself, too. Today, the question lingers: Is she still part of the gravitational pull? Her abrupt answer signaled everything. The WNBA’s relationship with its brightest new star is still uneasy, breaking records but also breaking nerves, forcing everyone—players, media, and league officials—to reckon with change at a pace unforeseen in women’s sports.
Caitlin Clark: The New Face, The New Era
Caitlin Clark’s arrival hasn’t just raised the bar—the entire arena has shifted. Her impact is spectacular and measurable: millions of new fans, sold-out arenas, broadcast records tumbling almost nightly, and economics never before seen in women’s pro basketball. A preseason Fever exhibition game drew 1.3 million viewers, out-rating NBA preseason games and many regular-season contests across sports. Suddenly, ticket prices for games featuring the Indiana Fever—Clark’s team—soared to $650 on average, rivaling playoff tickets in other leagues.
The so-called “Caitlin Clark Effect” is not a marketing myth. It’s a once-in-a-generation moment, reminiscent of what happened when the NBA realized it had a marketing juggernaut in Michael Jordan. Clark is to the WNBA what Jordan was to the NBA in the 1980s: an obvious axis around which to build the future. Yet, the league’s response has been more complicated and conflicted than it should have been.
The Stages of Resistance: How the League and Stars Struggled
What’s unfolded in the WNBA feels like a collective cycle of grief—grappling with a reality in which one player’s presence is so overwhelming it eclipses all that came before.
Stage One: Denial At first, the dominant narrative among WNBA veterans, media, and even league executives was that Clark’s hype was overblown. “There’s more than just that coming” became the refrain. Many wanted to believe this was business as usual; that the league had always had stars, and Clark was just another in a line—never mind the evidence that her impact was fundamentally new.
Stage Two: Anger When Clark’s first games drew audiences the league hadn’t seen in 25 years and every road arena became a sellout just for her presence, the resistance got uglier. There were hard fouls, “welcome to the league” treatment, and a pattern of referee indifference to the physical punishment Clark endured. Online and on air, accusations swirled: Was Clark getting too much attention because of her race? Was she really that special, or just lucky?
Stage Three: Bargaining The league’s messaging shifted. Instead of confronting the effect, some tried to spread the credit: “Why couldn’t Time magazine have put the whole WNBA on the cover instead of just Caitlin?” Critics minimized the influx of young, largely female fans and argued Clark was benefiting from unfair privilege—ignoring that she had shattered NCAA records, led Iowa to national championship games, and was transforming basketball viewership in real time.
Stage Four: Acceptance (at last… maybe) Slowly, as sellout crowds became routine and marketing dollars poured in, denial became impossible. Veteran stars began joining the Fever, not just for a job or paycheck but specifically to play with Caitlin Clark. Teams started moving games to NBA arenas to meet demand. The TV networks scheduled 41 of 44 Fever games for national broadcast. Even international opponents have been starstruck: after one exhibition, the Brazilian national team mobbed Clark for selfies as if she were LeBron or Jordan.
Why the Hesitation? Ego, Dreams, and the Death of Old Narratives
For many veteran WNBA players, Clark’s dominance is bittersweet. After years fighting for attention and respect, the arrival of a rookie—however spectacular—meant their own dreams of being “the one” to break soccer-level popularity were dashed. For a league forever told “no one cares about women’s basketball,” the crowds did show up—but for Caitlin. It’s human to feel a pang of loss when the spotlight pivots elsewhere, especially so suddenly.
Yet, the real story is that Clark brings more opportunity to everyone. As Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie have said, when one player brings in eyeballs, the whole league profits. The necessary shift is from individual jealousy to collective celebration. The NBA understood this with Jordan; now is the WNBA’s chance to learn from those lessons.
The Moment It Changed: Clark Meets the Moment
Nothing captured the changing tides quite like Clark’s preseason homecoming at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Before 1.3 million TV viewers, she calmly drained a three-pointer from the very spot where she broke the NCAA scoring record—the kind of moment only truly great athletes engineer for the cameras and the fans. The crowd went wild, social media erupted, and even her opponents asked for photos and autographs afterward. It wasn’t just basketball; it was theater, storytelling, and star power.
Off the court, Clark’s discipline matches her on-court genius. While others took off-season breaks, she was everywhere—making appearances at high-profile sports events, then showing up for morning workouts at 8 a.m. It’s the stuff of sporting legend, the mentality made famous by Kobe Bryant.
“Next Question”: The New Normal
Back to Reese’s “Next question.” That dismissal, rather than a slight, is an acknowledgement: Clark’s presence is an uncontested reality. No more debates, no more bargaining. She is the face of the league, and even the skeptics are climbing aboard.
Some players were bitter, others quietly frustrated, but more and more are turning supportive, realizing a rising tide lifts all boats. Clark isn’t just a marketing hot streak—she’s outworking, out-performing, and outlasting the narrative.
The WNBA’s Challenge—and Opportunity
The challenge now for the WNBA is simple but profound: Do they double down on what makes the league must-see TV, or do they fumble the moment out of fear and jealousy? History suggests leagues that embrace their supernovas—rather than trying to dim them—win big.
The future is bright, if uncertain. But one thing is clear: Whether you’re
“Next Question”: The WNBA Confronts the Caitlin Clark Effect and Its Own Identity
Last year, Angel Reese made headlines for declaring that women’s basketball’s surge in popularity wasn’t just about Caitlin Clark. “It’s because of me too,” she insisted. Now, a full year and a WNBA season later, her “next question” dismissiveness reveals everything about the league’s uneasy relationship with its biggest new star—and how the landscape is shifting beneath everyone’s feet.
The Caitlin Clark Effect is undeniable. She’s brought millions of new fans and unprecedented national attention to the WNBA. Sold-out arenas, record-smashing TV numbers, and viral moments at every turn have redefined what’s possible for the league. But rather than celebrating, many inside the WNBA have responded with suspicion, resentment, and in some cases outright hostility. Instead of treating Clark like a savior, some have seen her as an existential threat.
It’s been messy, complicated, and—until recently—an unforced error for a league that desperately wants to break through. But after a year of public hand-wringing, jealousy, and double standards, something has changed. The evidence is everywhere, and the narrative is shifting—because it has to.
From “Not Just One Player” to “Next Question”
The dynamic between Reese and Clark—who battled memorably in college before both entered the pro ranks—summed up the dysfunctional state of WNBA stardom. Reese’s “next question” wasn’t just shade; it was a surrender to the reality that Clark’s momentum has become impossible to ignore or challenge.
A year ago, the WNBA was hoping for a breakthrough. Then Clark landed, detonating public interest on a scale unseen for decades. Ticket resale prices soared. Games reached sellout status not just in Indiana but wherever the Fever traveled. Critics and longtime fans alike registered disbelief as Clark’s preseason games set viewership records that outpaced even regular-season action in the NBA, MLB, and NHL.
What did the league do? At first, it resisted—downplaying her influence, pushing parity, and offering only awkward enthusiasm. “We don’t want too much Caitlin Clark,” you could hear them saying. But soon everyone realized: there’s no such thing.
A League’s Stages of Grief
Why did so many WNBA voices react defensively to Clark’s arrival? Consider the stages of grief:
Denial: Last season, the emergence of Clark and the meteoric rise in interest were dismissed as a novelty—just another rookie, just new fans who’d lose interest.
Anger: When Clark’s every move made headlines and blew up TV ratings, league veterans and commentators grew testy, taking public and on-court shots not just at Clark but at her fans and the media. The narrative quickly became not why Clark was popular, but why this was unfair to others.
Bargaining: Unable to slow the hype, critics tried to redistribute it: “Why not put the whole WNBA on the magazine cover?” “Why doesn’t the league do more for everyone?”
Acceptance: At last, as the Fever’s every game became a national event and league economics exploded, attitudes shifted. Veterans joined Indiana, teams moved games to NBA venues, and the conversation turned from skepticism to strategy: how can everyone benefit when the spotlight is so bright on one star?
Grudging Acceptance—and Opportunity
What Caitlin Clark has accomplished is no fluke. She’s already broken the WNBA rookie assist record, led the league in popularity metrics, and transformed even preseason games into must-see spectacles. That level of star power is exceedingly rare. The best franchises in all sports know how to harness it, not stifle it.
Yet for many WNBA veterans, Clark’s takeover has felt like a loss: of attention, of legacy, of the hope that their years of hard work would be what brought women’s basketball into the mainstream. That pain is understandable, but misplaced. As Lisa Leslie put it, “When one player eats, we all eat.” Bigger crowds, bigger TV contracts, and more national headlines mean better pay and more opportunities for everyone.
Unmatched Star Power
The signature Caitlin Clark moment came during her homecoming preseason game at Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With the world watching—1.3 million live viewers, more than any recent NBA or MLB preseason game—Clark drained a logo three from the very spot where she set the NCAA scoring record.
This wasn’t just a basketball highlight; it was an event. The Brazilian national team mobbed her for selfies. The crowd’s roar, the internet memes, the feeling in the building—these are the moments that transform leagues and transcend sports.
It helped to have Clark’s work ethic on display, too. While most players took off-season breaks, she was grinding at 8 a.m., showing Kobe-esque (Mamba Mentality) discipline and focus. She’s not just showing up; she’s pushing the limits of what’s possible in the league.
A Tipping Point for the W
Now even the holdouts are coming around. Veterans, media, even rivals who felt sidelined by the tide are vocalizing respect. Sure, the league still faces challenges: inequities in coverage, lingering double standards, and some remaining pockets of resistance. But for the most part, the WNBA’s tone has changed. Teams are investing in infrastructure, sponsors are lining up, and prime-time TV slots are going to Clark and the Fever.
And as Reese’s viral “next question” made clear, there’s no longer any serious debate. Clark is the face of the WNBA. The only move now is forward.
The Lesson: Don’t Fumble the Moment
Teams, players, and league leaders would be wise to take Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie’s advice to heart: when the tide is rising, don’t try to build walls—build bigger boats. The animosity, skepticism, and jealousy don’t help the game. Only unity and a willingness to seize the current opportunity can bring sustainable growth.
Caitlin Clark has changed the WNBA forever. The question for everyone else is no longer “Is this a good thing?” but “How can we build on it?” For the WNBA—and for women’s sports—this is the moment to say yes.
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