The tales of the Caitlin Clark effect have been told enough. Cramped cabins? Replaced by charter flights! Empty seats?

Sold-out crowds are packing arenas. Corporate sponsors? They’re lining up faster than ever. Clark didn’t just bring her game to the W–she brought a movement. Now, new season, new talks, new expectations. Well, not really. Paige and Clark’s court battle is one thing, but the bigger question taking shape? Will the Paige Bueckers effect surpass the Caitlin Clark effect? One national reporter has already weighed in.

In her rookie year with the Indiana Fever, she brought in a staggering $36 million in economic impact for Indianapolis. Yep, just one player. And she was responsible for 27% of the WNBA’s total economic activity last season. That’s wild! But it didn’t stop there. Clark’s impact was felt in the stands, too. Fever jersey sales saw a record jump. We’re talking a 1,193% year-over-year jump by mid-season alone. And when you talk about attendance, the Fever saw a massive 265% boost in home game attendance.

The WNBA has seen legends like Sue Bird, Sheryl Swoopes, and Diana Taurasi, and today’s stars like A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Brittney Griner, and Kelsey Plum continue to raise the bar.

But when it comes to truly putting the league on the global stage, no one has done it quite like Caitlin Clark. Just last year, the Indiana Fever shattered records with 340,715 fans attending their home games, surpassing the previous high of 250,565. And astonishingly, nearly one-third of that crowd traveled from outside Indiana. And that is not it.

Even in sponsorships, the Fever finished their season with 90 active sponsors, the most in the W. That’s a 43% increase from the year before. Like it or not, these facts only scream that the Caitlin Clark effect is real. Now, with Bueckers already drawing huge comparisons to Clark, the question is, will she be able to bring a similar impact to Dallas?

Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports weighed in on the potential financial impact Paige Bueckers could have on Dallas, and it might ruffle a few feathers in Indianapolis. Costabile broke it down by talking about the differences in local economies.

 She explained, “The difference here is Dallas-Fort Worth’s economy is worth almost a trillion dollars. It’s over $70 billion that economy is valued at. And so, Indianapolis, by comparison, is valued under $300 billion. So again, comparing apples to oranges.”

Costabile goes on to explain, “The sports franchises that exist in Dallas, even the Dallas Cowboys, aren’t just a Texas franchise—they’re a global franchise. And even their impact on the Dallas economy is a drop in the bucket. So when you think about Paige’s impact, it’s not going to be this huge monetary number or monetary value to the Dallas economy.”

via Imago

There’s no doubt about the fact that the Paige Bueckers effect is also real. You just need to look at the rise in ticket prices and demand for Dallas games since their decision to draft the UConn alum. According to SeatGeek, ticket sales shot up 11x in the five days following the draft.

Site traffic? 905% jump, per TMZ. It’s not just SeatGeek either. Over at Vivid Seats, the situation is the same. Average ticket prices for Wings games have gone up by 38% compared to last season. And the crazy part? The overall traffic for their games exploded by an insane 920%.

But here’s the catch—there’s nearly a $400 billion difference between the two economies. So, you probably won’t see the same monstrous numbers Clark posted. The scale of impact is just different for Indianapolis compared to Dallas. For Bueckers, it will be more about replacing Luka Doncic as the face of Dallas basketball.

For the Indiana superstar, though, the focus has shifted. It’s all about chasing that championship with the Fever now. And guess what? Coach Stephanie White already has a few ideas on how they can level up from last season!

Stephanie White plans to change Caitlin Clark’s game

The Fever ended last season with a 20-20 record and a quick first-round playoff exit. Naturally, they hit the reset button. Their core of Aaliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, and Kelsey Mitchell was retained. They brought in 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year Stephanie White.

Added seasoned All-Stars like DeWanna Bonner and Natasha Howard. On paper? They’re looking like serious contenders. But Coach White knows better. If they want that trophy, the Fever have to clean things up on the court.

On an episode of the Good Follow podcast with Ros Gold-Onwude, Coach Stephanie White explained that they’re looking to reshape and elevate Caitlin Clark’s game. “From a basketball perspective, we have to make sure we help her diversify her defining ability so that she’s not predictable… We can’t be so predictable with so much athleticism, speed, quickness and with so much game plan geared toward her.”

White is going to be focusing on Clark’s off ball game, alongside breaking a pattern of her floaters. She knows the physicality is inevitable specifically against Clark, she knows strategies are going to be centered around her. So why not make the star player unpredictable herself?

Just as thrilling? Watching Paige and Caitlin battle it out on the biggest stage. Stay tuned! This W season is just getting started!