Caitlin Clark has been the catalyst of the emerging golden age of the WNBA. Women's sports have been on the rise for half a decade, and the boom was on the precipice.
If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, Sabrina Ionescu likely would've been the face of the movement, but it's instead been Clark, the Iowa Hawkeyes basketball product with a game akin to Stephen Curry.
The Fever superstar is out indefinitely with a left quadriceps strain, which deflates what was shaping up to be a potential MVP campaign.
Although the absence shouldn't be crippling to Indiana or the W, it raises questions about the kind of status Clark has ascended to, with one FOX host drawing a stunning parallel.
During a recent guest appearance on "The Herd," Nick Wright compared Clark's impact to that of a sports cultural icon.
"Tiger Woods is the best comparison," Wright said. "It took a sport that was incredibly popular amongst a small segment of the population, and seemingly, one person made it mainstream. Do you know who the biggest beneficiaries of Tiger Woods were? Other golfers. Having a supernova celebrity be awesome at your sport is good for everyone in the sport."
It shouldn't take Clark being sidelined for a few weeks to understand her influence on the game. The fact that Indiana is a title contender will only help the development of the league once Clark is playing meaningful games against the likes of Ionescu, Napheesa Collier, and A'Ja Wilson.
Woods was a global god before his spiral, but if Clark can stay on this trajectory for a few years, the WNBA will challenge the MLB for prominent summer entertainment.