Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever guard, has been labeled as the biggest name in women’s basketball and sports by Bill Simmons, but is she bigger than NBA stars under the age of 30? Simmons listed names like Nikola Jokić, Luka Don
ić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and others who are considered among the game’s best, regardless of age.
Simmons noted that Clark has changed many conversations about sports, particularly women’s sports, stating that “Her stardom in a way has changed many conversations about sports, I feel like, especially women’s sports… Part of it is, it’s real difficult now for a guy to become famous in basketball at the collegiate level. It still seems very plausible for a woman.”
Clark’s rise to fame has been tremendous, with some of her regular-season games drawing bigger audiences than playoff games without her. Her matchups against Angel Reese, in particular, have seen some of the biggest audiences the WNBA has seen. Even NBA ratings have been declining, a trend that Clark’s success has not counteracted.
While some talking heads have expressed their differing opinions, Bill Simmons stands firm in his assertion, stating, “I literally did not care about women’s college basketball 10 years ago in any way, shape or form… So, I think some things have moved forward, just the quality of play is more fun to watch. She seems to be some sort of catalyst that is like before or after, and now we’re in the after.”
