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WNBA All-Star weekend is only a day away, and the anticipation of hometown favorite Caitlin Clark serving as captain of Team Clark for the game in Indianapolis was palpable among fans.
Nothing like a pulled muscle to mute the buzz.
The Indiana Fever announced that Clark will miss the All-Star Game and the three-point contest because of an injury to her right groin sustained with 39.6 seconds to play in a victory against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night.
“I am incredibly sad and disappointed to say I can’t participate in the three-point contest or the All-Star Game. I have to rest my body.” Clark said. “I will still be at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for all the action and I’m looking forward to helping Sandy [Liberty coach Brondello] coach our team to a win.”
The superstar guard did not play Wednesday night against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center, the site of her first breakout performance last season as a rookie. She scored 22 points during the May 18 game that set a WNBA record by generating $2 million in ticket revenue.
“It’s a big deal for us to have the All-Star Game in Indianapolis, of course with Caitlin being a focal point of all that,” Fever coach Stephanie White said Thursday. “As the coach of the Indiana Fever, it’s not a bigger deal than our long-term season.”
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Moments after her injury, teammate Aliyah Boston tried to console Clark as she walked to the basket stanchion and tapped her forehead against it before sitting down and covering her head with a towel. She did not speak with reporters after the game.
This was the fourth leg injury of the season for Clark, who is averaging 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and five rebounds a game. She missed five games — including the Commissioner’s Cup Championship — because of a left groin strain and missed five games with an injury to her left quad. She also missed the Fever’s preseason opener May 3 because of tightness in her quad.
Before this season, Clark, 23, had never missed a game in college or the WNBA because of injury. She played all 139 games at Iowa, then 46 games in a row to start her WNBA career.
“It’s been challenging mentally, just, you know, staying in it,” Clark told reporters July 8 before her return from the left groin injury. “I’ve been here for hours and hours on hours trying to get my body right and do everything I can to put myself in a position to be available the rest of the year.”
The All-Star Game will be played Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Fever’s home arena. The three-point contest will be held Friday.
Clark and Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx were named captains of the All-Star teams and drafted the rosters after getting the most fan votes. Clark finished with a record 1,293,526 fan votes and Collier received 1,176,020.
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