During the Indiana Fever's 100-93 over the Dallas Wings, one of the all-time legends in women's basketball, Nancy Lieberman, spoke the truth about what Caitlin Clark is going through and what she is doing for the WNBA.
“When I walked in here before the game. There were just hundreds of fans lined up. What Caitlin Clark has done for the game is generational. As a baller to a baller… I wanna say thank you to you, Caitlin Clark, for lifting our game up. You and so many great players, what you're doing is going to make all these women multi-millionaires one day. Like Tiger did. Like Michael Jordan did. And we shouldn't hate on her. We should celebrate her.”
If you trace the trajectory of player salaries in the NBA, it jumped significantly in the Jordan era. But it experienced growth in stages like the NBA-ABA merger or the Bird-Magic era. Perhaps there will be a more seismic shift with Clark.
For the uninitiated, Lieberman is one of the sport's pioneers. Known affectionately as “Lady Magic,” as she was the female counterpart to Earvin “Magic” Johnson, she still holds many women's college basketball records. She began her pro career as the first pick in the 1980 Women's Pro Basketball League and also played in the Women's American Basketball Association.
In the WNBA's inaugural season in 1997, she played for the Phoenix Mercury at the age of 39. She won a silver medal in the 1976 Montreal Olympics and a gold in the 1979 World Championships in Seoul.
Clark was not invited onto Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics. US Olympics and Paralympics Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland commented on her exclusion.
“When you look at the whole thing in totality, I would say USA Basketball has had a very disciplined process with people who know more about the sport of women’s basketball than anyone else in the world,” Hirshland said. “And I trust that they know exactly what they’re doing.”
It seems safe to assume that Clark will make Team USA for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Fever's Caitlin Clark, WNBA contracts and the instant impact of her rookie season
Satou Sabally, a star player on the Wings, commented that, as Lieberman noted, many Caitlin Clark fans were in attendance before the game.
“There were way too many Caitlin fans in our arena,” Sabally said to the media post-game.
Shaquille O'Neal talked to theScore about the rise of the WNBA, Clark and Angel Reese.
“I'm glad they're getting their exposure,” Shaquille O'Neal said, according to theScore. “They definitely deserve [it]. Now we just gotta get 'em similar contracts than what some of these NBA guys are making.”
Clark, the No. 1 pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever, signed a four-year, $338K contract. Her first-year salary is $76,535. The league minimum salaries in the NFL ($795K), NBA ($1.16M), MLB ($740K), and NHL ($775K) are all at least 10X higher.
The records keep falling, and a WNBA Rookie of the Year is in sight. On Sunday, Clark set a WNBA record for guards with her 12th double-double.
With seven games remaining on their schedule, the Fever hold the No. 6 seed with a 17-16 record. Clark and the Fever have won eight of their last ten games and are pushing for a significant playoff run.
