Ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, NBA commissioner Adam Silver joined ESPN’s Malika Andrews for “NBA Countdown.”
Given his experience with stars like Michael Jordan and LeBron James, Andrews asked how the WNBA can balance the power of a singular star like Caitlin Clark with the health and growth of the entire league.
“I think it’s fantastic to see. I even took my daughter to go see her when they played the Liberty in New York. It was amazing to see the full stadium and the stars courtside, but I think Caitlin knows she’s ultimately got to prove it on the floor and you can’t anoint stars in this league. There’s other names that weren’t on your list that were going to be the next fill-in-the-blank and they turned out not to be just because of their performance.
“I believe she’s going to deliver. She seems to have the character, and the drive, and the will, and the talent, but let her evolve as a player. I want to take the pressure off of her, not put more pressure on her,” Silver said.
Malika Andrews asks Adam Silver, “How do you balance the power of a singular star (Caitlin Clark) vs. the health and growth of an entire league, as the WNBA is trying to do now?” 🏀 pic.twitter.com/am5fzkNdat
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 13, 2024
While Silver’s response might not have answered Andrews’ question directly, one can deduce that his feelings are that it’s been fantastic to watch Clark bring the WNBA to the forefront of the sports world’s conscience. The Indiana Fever and Clark are selling out arenas and delivering TV ratings and interest like rarely seen before.
Still, Clark has to continue proving it on the court and the rest of it will take care of itself. Clark is having a solid rookie season after entering the league to the Fever as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.
Clark is averaging 16.3 points, 6.0 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 37.3% from the field, 33.0% from 3-point range and 89.7% from the free throw line.
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