Women's Fastbreak On SI

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Credits Caitlin Clark for Overdue WNBA 'Overnight Sensation'

Adam Silver offered some high praise of Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark on Monday.

Grant Young

Jul 20, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver arrives prior to the WNBA All Star Game at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Jul 20, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver arrives prior to the WNBA All Star Game at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Anybody who has followed the women's basketball community for any amount of time is well aware of the impact and attention that Caitlin Clark has brought to the game.

In fact, many people are now part of the women's basketball community because of Caitlin Clark. Not only has she brought an unprecedented amount of eyes to both the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Indiana Fever, and the WNBA as a whole during her brief professional career, but her impact has also been felt financially, with all the revenue she has generated.

Nobody understands her impact on the WNBA's bottom line better than NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who works directly with NBA ownership (who are also WNBA investors) to prove that the funding they provide the women's game will eventually pay dividends.

Silver and Caitlin Clark both attended Monday's NBA game between the Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers and shared what appeared to be a brief interaction at one point.

While it's unknown what they said to each other, some of Silver's other comments about Clark on Monday have surfaced.

Fever beat writer Scott Agness posted on X Monday, "Adam Silver on Pacers TV: 'Caitlin Clark set the world on fire, not just this community.

"'She's brought so much attention to the entire league. People are seeing how deep this league is, how good the qualify of basketball is. ... It's wonderful to see.'"

A November 26 article from IndyStar's Scott Horner added Silver saying after this aforementioned comment, "People are seeing how deep this league is. I jokingly said this league is a 28-year overnight sensation."

While Silver may have been joking, the truth certainly doesn't feel far off.

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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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