Chiney Ogwumike shares eye-opening take on Caitlin Clark’s WNBA impact

Caitlin Clark’s impact on the WNBA has been undeniable with the multiple records she broke throughout her rookie season. Chiney Ogwumike believes that will continue to be the case as Clark heads into her second year in the league.

Ogwumike participated on the panel of ESPN’s First Take on Thursday, noticing how people view Clark to be a star who moves the needle for teams in need of a push. However, she thinks differently on that concept.

“A lot of people say that Caitlin Clark ‘moves the needle.’ That is wrong. She is the needle. She dictates. We all know what she has done on the floor. It’s history, right? But off the floor, my goodness. She and the Indiana Fever accounted for 45% of all the broadcast value of the WNBA last season. She accounted also for helping drive the numbers of merchandising up,” Ogwumike said.

“So I think Caitlin, she moves because she knows people follow her no matter where she goes, and she’s very strategic about dictating where her value is.”

Fever look to make jump in Caitlin Clark’s second year

Expectations will be high on Caitlin Clark once the 2025 season begins for her and the Indiana Fever.

They are coming off a 20-20 showing in 2024, suffering a first-round exit to the Connecticut Sun in a best-of-three series. It marked a seven-win improvement from the year prior, showing how much Indiana got better from drafting Clark in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

Clark progressed throughout her rookie season as she proved to be one of the league’s best early on. She averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals on 41.7% shooting from the field and 34.4% from beyond the arc en route to winning Rookie of the Year.

One thing Indiana will look to maintain is their potent offense. With Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston highlight the unit, the Fever had the second-best scoring offense (85) and third-best offensive rating (106.1).

However, they go into the 2025 campaign with a different head coach in Stephanie White after letting go of Christie Sides during the offseason. The team’s ability to bond with their new leader at the helm in a short amount of time will be crucial, especially to build off their success from last season.

The Fever’s season-opener will take place at home in the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, hosting the Chicago Sky on May 17 at 1 p.m. ET