For as much attention as she gets, I still don’t think we fully appreciate how amazing Caitlin Clark is. The soon-to-be WNBA sophomore helped women’s college basketball reach new heights in popularity thanks to her incredible shot-making skills and flair for the dramatic, and she’s already helped elevate the WNBA in much the same way after one season.
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Clark’s game is undeniable—she helped Iowa reach two consecutive national championship games, and in her Rookie of the Year-winning season, she helped the Indiana Fever reach the playoffs just one year after they were one of the worst teams in the league.
Clark’s game makes her special, but the way she’s been able to rise above every roadblock and bit of negativity to remain true to herself is what makes her iconic. She’s become a role model to so many young girls for exactly that reason, which is why she was recently asked to speak at the Excellence in Leadership series at the University of the Cumberlands.
Clark has always let her game do the talking, and she explained why while she was on stage.
“The best way to [win] is to be quiet and to be competitive and show everything with your game and the time that you put in to be great and just believe in yourself,” she said. “If your opponent gets competitive with you, get competitive right back. Just win.”
The way Clark has been able to avoid controversy, even as it attempts to find her, is incredible. She rose above being taunted by Angel Reese in the 2023 national title game, saying that Reese “shouldn’t be criticized at all,” and she even downplayed Reese’s flagrant foul on her in a WNBA game as “just a basketball play.”
Caitlin Clark has risen above everything to become a superstar on her own terms
Clark has earned every bit of attention she’s received, but she’s still taken the time to lift others up as well. In her interview after being named Time’s Athlete of the Year in 2024, she acknowledged the advantages she’s inherently had as a white person, while paying homage to the many black players who paved the way for her in the WNBA.
“A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible, I think it’s very important,” she said.
As important as playing well and winning are to Clark, the way she’s embraced being a role model to young girls is even more impressive. She spoke about that at the LPGA’s Women’s Leadership Summit in November.
“That’s the reason that you play, it’s not because of the wins and the points you score. It’s the amount of joy that you can bring people and the young girls that will one day grow up to hopefully be whatever they want to be.”
The winning definitely feels good too, though, especially as Clark continues to prove that she deserves her lofty status as the game’s biggest star. With another year playing next to Aliyah Boston and a new coach in Stephanie White, her Indiana Fever are hoping to continue their upward trajectory. Given the way Clark has succeeded wherever she goes, we wouldn’t bet against them.
