Caitlin Clark Addresses What Comes Next for Women’s Basketball

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark spoke about the future of women's basketball.
Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) looks on from the team bench during the game against the Dallas Wings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) looks on from the team bench during the game against the Dallas Wings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Indiana Fever superstar guard Caitlin Clark has already made a massive impact on the growth that women's basketball has experienced over the past few years. In fact, she (along with other young stars like Angel Reese and Paige Buecker) has been the driving force in this growth, especially within the WNBA.

While there have been popular players and well-known names in women's basketball before Clark came on the scene, there's no question that her global renown is unprecedented when compared to her peers. Clark's global name value holds a lot of weight even when compared to some of the biggest men's basketball players.

There's no question that both Clark and women's basketball as a whole still have a lot of room to grow and evolve, both as a business and in terms of its prominence in pop culture and as a mainstream sport. There's also no question that Clark continuing to succeed on and off the court will be crucial to the sport reaching its full potential.

Caitlin Clark looks on from the sideline during warmups on October 5, 2025
Oct 5, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Caitlin Clark looks on from the sideline during warmups before the game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Caitlin Clark Weighs In on the Future of Women’s Basketball

Clark interviewed with Chinese bilingual content creator TelfairTong, which was published on their YouTube channel on December 26.

At one point in their discussion, when Clark was asked about what she wants to see for women's basketball to be improved in the future, she said, "Yeah, I just think more and more opportunities. And I think that's exactly what's happening. Because there's more and more young girls that love basketball, or love another sport, and believe that they can be good at it. And I think it kind of starts with the stage that I'm playing on right now.

"The more we can be on TV, and the more people can come and watch us and buy a ticket, or we can go to places like China, or wherever it's at, globally, to help grow the game and allow people to see us play basketball, I think it's a really important and powerful thing. When you really get to see people you idolize up close, those were some of the most impactful moments of my childhood, so I know how impactful that can be for young girls today, too," she continued.

Clark also mentioned that she would love to go to China in the future to help grow the women's game there. It will be fun to see what a healthy and successful 2026 season will do for not only Clark's stardom but the entire WNBA.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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