"Caitlin has benefited from the Steph Curry effect" - Matt Barnes explains why Caitlin Clark is incredibly popular originally appeared on Basketball Network .
Indiana Fever All-Star guard Caitlin Clark is arguably the most popular player in the WNBA. Clark's arrival in the pro league has seen the interest in women's games grow dramatically. The WNBA has seen its attendance numbers increase since she joined the association and the figures continue to go up as Caitlin is in her second season.
Listed at six feet tall and weighing 157 pounds, the slim-built Clark has an unassuming look and what she calls a goofy personality. But once she is on that court, she is as fiery and competitive as any player could be. She also has that ability to shoot the ball from way downtown, which All The Smoke's Matt Barnes claims is the key to her appeal.
"I think Caitlin has benefited from the Steph Curry effect," said Barnes. "I think that's why there's a huge hype around what she's able to do because we haven't seen someone shoot the ball with the consistency and from the range that she's been shooting with. And that always excites people the same way it excited people when Steph came to the NBA."
Steph Curry changed how basketball is played as he turned the 3-point shot from a mere accessory into a primary weapon that led his team to four NBA championships during an 8-year span from 2015 to 2022. At 6'2", Curry is one of the most relatable stars in the league because of his size, which makes his position seem more attainable to aspiring hoopers.
Meanwhile, Clark was dubbed the female version of Curry while she was in Iowa. Not only was Caitlin a career 38 percent 3-point shooter in college, but she was also taking shots from the parking lot like Steph and consistently making them.
Like Steph did for Davidson and the Golden State Warriors, Caitlin elevated the women's basketball program at Iowa, leading the Hawkeyes to the women's title game in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024. And so when she came to the WNBA, the Caitlin hype followed her to the Indiana Fever.
Curry and Clark have changed the dynamics of what are considered good or bad shots. Traditionally, taking 30-footers or logo 3-pointers is a no-no unless it's a last-second shot in a quarter. But both have made it a norm, at least for themselves, because of their uncanny ability to hit those shots.
"No shot is a bad shot when you can shoot it as well as she can," Curry told ESPN in 2023. "When you watch them play, she just adds the element of surprise that you can't really game-plan for. Because it's so unseen in the sense of when she crosses half court, she's in her range."
Interestingly, Clark has been struggling with 3-pointers this season at just 27.9 percent, and she is just a career 34.4 percent 3-point shooter in the WNBA. But that has not diminished her appeal. The Caitlin fever has spread to even sports card collectors, as a Clark Panini rookie card recently sold for $660,000 , the highest amount ever paid for a female athlete sports card.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 28, 2025, where it first appeared.
