To say that Caitlin Clark might be the biggest star in women’s basketball at the moment feels like an understatement of the order of saying something like “the sun is very large and very hot.” Besides being inadequate to describe the phenomenon in question, it’s also horrendously obvious.
Case in point, Clark Fever (Mania?) is at such all-time highs, even men’s sports leagues want in on the action. Ice Cube, proprietor of the innovative BIG3 league, even offered Clark $5 million to play in the BIG3 this summer. According to TMZ, the deal would be for eight regular-season games and two possible playoff games, while still allowing her to play in the WNBA.
Cube explained providing the offer, saying, “Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes.” He even got polictical, rightly pointing out that women “should have more than just one professional option in the US at a time when American pro sports leagues are being infiltrated by autocratic, anti-women regimes such as Qatar.” The specter of Brittney Griner’s recent ordeal looms large.
We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship. But I won’t deny what’s now already out there: BIG3 made a historic
offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn’t we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3. https://t.co/cwzHh7EVau— Ice Cube (@icecube) March 27, 2024
While we’re sure that he’s making this offer in good faith (despite bypassing no small number of Clark’s fellow stars), it seems … unlikely that Clark would be able to play in BIG3 and WNBA at the same time, as their seasons greatly overlap. Intriguingly, though, only two BIG3 games overlap with games for the Indiana Fever, the team that seems most likely to land Clark in this season’s upcoming draft. The additional travel and game wear doesn’t eem like it’d be quite worth it, but hey, stranger things have happened in Indiana (ba-dum, tsss).
However, one place Cube’s statement is thankfully inaccurate is that there is more than one women’s basketball option for players opting out of overseas play. The Athletes Unlimited Pro Hoops league just concluded its third season this past weekend. So, if Clark wants to stay sharp, she certainly has at least one other option in 2025.
