The Indiana Fever superstar is out with a groin injury. But her presence in Indianapolis is impossible to miss.
INDIANAPOLIS — WNBA All-Star Weekend was supposed to be Caitlin Clark’s time to shine. From the 30-foot image of Clark on the side of the JW Marriott to the record-breaking 1.3 million fan votes she received to make her an All-Star captain, Indianapolis was set up perfectly to showcase the league’s biggest star.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out that way.
Clark, who has battled the injury bug all season, re-aggravated a groin strain late in Tuesday’s game against the Connecticut Sun. On Thursday, she was officially ruled out of both the All-Star Game and the STARRY 3-Point Contest. The announcement was a massive blow both to the league — which was hoping to build off last year’s record-breaking viewership numbers — and to the hometown Indiana Fever fans.
Despite being a team captain, Caitlin Clark is out for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game after suffering a groin injury.
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Ticket prices for Saturday’s game plummeted immediately after the announcement that Clark would not play. TickPick reported that prices dropped 48% in less than a day. That’s after the secondary market soared earlier in the week at record-highs despite Clark’s uncertain status. Now, just hours before tip-off, the get-in price is $68 on StubHub.
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Still, the reigning Rookie of the Year has been an active participant in the weekend’s festivities. Clark appeared on Good Morning America live from Indianapolis, taped a podcast with Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird and has made appearances at multiple sponsorship activations, including Wilson and State Farm. She also sat courtside to support her fellow All-Stars at Friday night’s Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest.
“On a positive note, it’s good to see her smile,” Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell told reporters on Friday. “She’s been through a lot. She’s, you know, trying to figure out what she needs for her body, and it’s important for us to make sure that she still feels heard and seen… We as teammates want to make sure that she feels connected to us all weekend.”
Mitchell continued: “So shout out to you, CC, for just being a good person and being here and being present. I know, as a competitor, everyone wants to compete. You want to have fun… It’s tough to not be a part of conversations and be a part of you know what you know you deserve to be a part of.”
According to WNBA Communications, 15,139 fans showed up to Friday night’s event, as the New York Liberty’s Natasha Cloud and Sabrina Ionescu won the Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest, respectively. But there was a noticeable lack of excitement from fans who originally planned to see their star player out on the court. Every time Clark was shown on the jumbotron at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, though, the whole place went wild.
“Obviously, it’s really unfortunate that we don’t have her, but she means a lot more to the game than just showing up and playing,” Ionescu said of Clark. “I think you’re able to see that with the excitement in Indy right now, regardless of if she’s playing or not.”
She’s right. Just walk around downtown this weekend, and you’ll find more navy, red and gold No. 22 jerseys than you can count. The love this city has for Caitlin Clark is palpable.
And even though Clark won’t be suiting up for Saturday’s game, don’t be surprised if you see her with a clipboard. Clark told All-Star coach Sandy Brondello she wanted to help coach her team, and Brondello was happy to oblige.
“She’s going to still have a great impact on this team,” Brondello said on Friday. “You know, I will give the coaching hat to her as much as she wants, to be quite honest. So, you know, we’re gonna play around with it a little bit. It’ll be fun. I think you’ve seen it with the Fever. She’s been very active on the sideline when she wasn’t playing. So we’ll utilize that as well.”
Last year’s WNBA All-Star Game — the first for Clark — brought in a record-breaking 3.44 million viewers. Without her, is there still enough star power and interest to match or eclipse that mark? We’ll find out soon.
