Caitlin Clark will have home-field advantage if she makes the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, as according to ESPN, the midseason festivities will take place in Indianapolis and Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where Clark’s Fever plays their home games.
The city has never hosted the All-Star Game before, but will host the NBA All-Star Game in 2024.
Clark participated in the 2024 All-Star Game in Phoenix last month, where she had four points and 10 assists to help Team WNBA defeat Team USA, which went on to win its eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal. With the final assist score, she was one point shy of tying Sue Bird’s All-Star Game record.
“I feel very fortunate to be a part of this weekend,” Clark said in a post-game segment on SportsCenter, “and I thought Phoenix put together a great weekend. The fans were incredible. The game was obviously really good, and then to go home with a win isn’t bad either.”
Clark could also get the opportunity to participate in the league’s 3-point contest in front of her home crowd after not participating this year.
Indianapolis and Gainbridge Fieldhouse will also be a fitting venue for the All-Star Game, as the city – and the arena – serve as a microcosm for the sport’s rapid growth. According to data released Tuesday by the team’s public relations department, the Fever saw a 264.6 percent increase in attendance and a 1,193 percent increase in jersey sales.
Before her first home game in May, a giant Gatorade banner was hung on the side of a local hotel in town and the arena was filled with numerous Clark jerseys – both the Fever and Iowa, where she was a standout in college.
But by the time the All-Star break came around, Clark’s individual play had already opened up plenty of opportunities for the other Fever players, and Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell were also able to play in Phoenix.
After the month-long Olympic break, the WNBA season resumes on Thursday and the Fever opens its final stretch at home against the Mercury on Friday.
They currently sit in seventh place and cling to one of the final playoff spots, but Clark, Boston, Mitchell, Smith and others have helped turn their season around after a horrific 3-10 start.
The 17-point loss to the Sun on June 10 was followed by an 8-5 streak heading into the offseason, giving Indiana a chance at its first postseason appearance since 2016.
