Caitlin Clark projected a much more optimistic tone about the prospects of the WNBA and its players reaching a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of Monday’s talks between the players’ association and the league.
The frustration was obvious among some WNBA players during Friday’s Unrivaled tour stop in Philadelphia, but Clark said she felt “very confident” that a new CBA could be crafted to save the 2026 WNBA season when she made her debut as a contributor on “Basketball Night in America” on Sunday.
“Honestly, I don’t just think it’s a great moment for the WNBA. For all women’s sports, I think it’s one of the greatest moments we’ve ever had,” Clark told the NBC crew before the Knicks-Lakers game. “I’m very confident that we’re going to do something because we’re in this moment because of the product that we put on the floor. We have to continue to be able to do that and I know that everyone is working very hard.”
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The WNBA and WNBAPA are scheduled to meet in New York on Monday, attended by union President Nneka Ogwumike and other key executives, as well as the WNBA Labor Relations Committee, some owners and members of the league’s Board of Governors.
Caitlin Clark speaks on stage as she joins NBC’s Sunday Night Basketball before the game. Getty Images
The meeting is already considered a key moment, and Clark called it “super important.”
“I truly believe we’re going to get something done here in the next few weeks, but there are still a lot of boxes we still need to check,” Clark continued.
The WNBA is already behind schedule due to prolonged union negotiations.
Free agency is currently suspended and other league business has not yet been conducted.
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The league has not responded to a proposal the union submitted more than 30 days ago, in part because the WNBA is waiting for a more “realistic” proposal, ESPN reported.
“I’m just a little upset, frustrated – all of us,” Natasha Cloud said Friday in Philadelphia. “And in a lot of ways, I’m just disgusted with The W and the way they’re handling this and their lack of value, their lack of value to us, their lack of even trying to make a difference with us.”
WNBA star Caitlin Clark (C) makes her NBC Sports TV debut with Reggie Miller, Carmelo Anthony and Maria Taylor before the Los Angeles Lakers’ start against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. JASON SZENES / NY POST
Although the question of whether there will be a WNBA season this year remains, Clark spoke enthusiastically about the direction women’s basketball and the Fever were heading.
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From the start, Taylor suggested that there should be a game featuring Clark and Garden Fever.
“Even though it’s a preseason game, we have to do it,” Clark said. “I don’t think Liberty will want to move a game here, but we’ll play anybody. It’ll be fun.”
Anthony, a former Knicks man, agreed that “we have to get this done.”
But before anyone can imagine Clark gracing the Garden field, the players and the league must settle a CBA.
