One of the most popular female entertainers in the world is making news today, and no, we're not talking about Taylor Swift, who just released her new album, "The Life of a Showgirl." We're talking about her friend and fellow Kansas City Chiefs enjoyer Caitlin Clark.
Clark's Indiana Fever just wrapped up their season by falling valiantly in five games to the Las Vegas Aces. The deciding game went to overtime before A'ja Wilson and company were able to pull away, but as much as the story was about the recently named four-time MVP getting back to the WNBA Finals for the third time in four years, the Fever still stole the show by putting up such a great fight despite being severely shorthanded.
Although she had a rough shooting start to her season, most experts wrote the Fever off when Clark was ruled out for the year. She had lived up to the hype and then some in her debut season with her combination of shooting and playmaking, and was rewarded by receiving all but one first-place vote for Rookie of the Year. Once she got on track this season, the Fever were supposed to be contenders, but without her, they weren't. At least that's what more people thought.
In total, Clark played in only 13 of 44 regular season games, and she was joined on the season-ending injury list by an extensive group of Fever contributors that included (but wasn't limited to) Sydney Colson, Aari McDonald and Sophie Cunningham.
Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, Odyssey Sims, Natasha Howard and Lexie Hull carried Indiana to the brink of their first Finals appearance since 2015 without their fallen comrades, but even Mitchell, who finished fifth in MVP voting, went down before the season was done, as she was hit in the deciding game against the Aces with something called rhabdomyolysis that temporarily made her lose feeling in her legs.
With what should be a much healthier roster next year, the Fever should be in a great position to go even further in the postseason and challenge for a championship. Unfortunately for fans of Clark who were hoping to see her before that, it doesn't look like it's going to happen.
Caitlin Clark will not be playing in the second season of Unrivaled, reports say
Front Office Sports reported on Thursday that for the second year in a row, Clark won't be participating in Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 league founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.
Clark didn't play last year, either, but those circumstances were a bit different. She had a quick turnaround time from the women's national championship game with Iowa until she had to jump right in as a pro with the Fever, and so it made sense that she would want an extended break to recuperate once the offseason hit. Everyone was hoping that this year would be a different story.
Those who participated in Unrivaled were paid much more than their WNBA salaries and also received equity in the league, but Clark likely wasn't motivated by the money thanks to the millions she makes from endorsement deals. The injuries she's dealt with this year proved that she was right not to participate, but many fans were still hopeful that she'd come back for the bigger and better second season since they hardly got to see her this year at all.
It seems like that's not going to be the case. It's a real bummer, and it's even more dire considering that the WNBA may be on the verge of a work stoppage if the players and the league can't come to terms.
The relationship between WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and her players is incredibly bad at the moment. Collier torched Engelbert with a four-minute diatribe earlier in the week, and many other players have supported her cause. Clark herself even released a statement on Thursday showing support for what Collier said.
If things go south in labor negotiations, Unrivaled could fill that vacuum to become the signature women's basketball league. Many of the game's top stars are already signed on to play, but without Clark, Unrivaled will have trouble selling itself as a true competitor to the WNBA, even if the W is on hold.
By joining Unrivaled, Clark could have really stuck it to Engelbert for her delusional comments that the Fever star owes everything to the WNBA, but for whatever reason, she's decided not to. It's certainly her prerogative, but for the fans, it's the latest in a long run of bad news. All that's left for us to do now is hope she heals up and gets back on the court, whenever that may be.