When Caitlin Clark crosses half court, everyone in the building is on high alert.
It’s not unlike what a certain guard for the Golden State Warriors causes when he dribbles the ball past the timeline.
For the first time on Thursday, the worlds of Clark and Stephen Curry will collide at Chase Center in San Francisco, as the basketball cathedral made possible by the greatest shooter of all time welcomes his heir apparent on the women’s side. The startup Golden State Valkyries will take on Clark’s Indiana Fever, bringing full circle a confluence of long-distance excellence.
Clark’s impact, like Curry’s, has extended far beyond the court she plays on. It was Curry who made a generation of young basketball players want to chuck from the logo – “ruining the game,” as his former coach Mark Jackson put it – and fully weaponized the 3-pointer as the most powerful shot available to a player.
Curry fundamentally changed the way basketball is played at every level. Early in her career, Clark is having a similar impact on the women’s game.
Since joining the Indiana Fever after the 2024 WNBA draft, Clark has spearheaded a 3-point surge in the league. The WNBA’s 3-point attempt rate this season is 37.2%, the highest in league history.
That mark had been growing by about a percentage point each year, but it made a steep change from 2024 to 2025. In 2024, it was 33.5%.
The Valkyries, in their first year, are at the forefront of the transformation as one of five teams to attempt more than 40% of their shots from 3. Last season, only the New York Liberty were over 40%.
The changes are not limited to the professional level. Bay Area girls high school coaches have seen firsthand the way Clark is altering the game at lower levels and influencing young players to imitate her exceptional shooting prowess.
“The positives are her mastery of the skill of shooting being a major part of her greatness,” Pinewood girls coach Doc Scheppler said of Clark’s influence. “She is a willing passer who is fun to play with. Her passing angle knowledge and accuracy of her passes are high level. Great vision, decision and execution. She works at developing her game. Supportive teammate.
“The minor negatives are low-percentage 3s that aren’t efficient and kids seeing those as quality shots with form disintegration. They’re a wow if they go in, but if they don’t go in, that doesn’t translate as a winning basketball play.”
Scheppler has been a longtime advocate of the virtues of the 3-pointer at the prep level, but even he is wary of Clark’s more ambitious attempts leading young players astray. And to his point, those shots certainly produce “wow” moments.
Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark shoots free throws in the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings, Wednesday, July 17, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)On Saturday, Clark buried three deep triples in a span of 38 seconds in a win over the Liberty, bringing the Fever back from a 21-15 deficit to tie the game at 24-24. As a whole, she made seven 3-pointers in Indiana’s 102-88 win over the defending WNBA champions, splashing from distances of 33, 27, 31, 26, 31, 27, and 26 feet.
The WNBA 3-point line stretches out to 22 feet, 1.75 inches from the basket.
“She has been awesome for the sport,” said Carondelet coach Kelly Sopak, who coached fellow long-distance specialist Sabrina Ionescu at Miramonte High in Orinda. “Her skill set and fanfare has brought so much attention to the women’s game.
“When she was a freshman, in April of that year, I coached against her at the Boo Williams Nike event in Virginia. That is when I knew she was going to be a pro and one of the best. Her ability to get her shot off quickly and against any team or individual just stood out.”
San Ramon Valley girls coach John Cristiano, whose team often likes to attack from the perimeter, has seen firsthand this week the effect Clark has had on individual players and the game at large.
“The arrival of Ms. Clark on the women’s basketball scene has been the shot of adrenaline that women’s basketball has needed,” Cristiano said on Tuesday. “Every young player in our youth summer camps knows about Caitlin Clark and wants to shoot a ball from 25-30 feet like Caitlin Clark. The increased awareness is a coach’s dream come true, while at the same time a coach’s worst nightmare.
“In fact, we are ending practice early on Thursday so the girls can get to Chase to see the Valkyries and Caitlyn Clark. It is our hope that she will rebuild the foundation needed to make women’s basketball the big draw to young girls that it once was. This morning at youth summer camp for K-7th graders, we had a number of kids proudly repping Caitlin Clark T-shirts. Only one Steph Curry T-shirt could be found in the crowd of future hoopers.”
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives on New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) in the second half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)Mitty coach Sue Phillips has seen generations of excellent players come and go. She’s coached future pros and a bundle of stars who went on to play college basketball.
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“Caitlin has a large and enthusiastic fan base, and it has contributed to the wave of interest and excitement in women’s basketball,” Phillips said. “She has certainly been the one on the female side who has received the most attention and celebration for shooting logo 3s.”
Whatever a fan’s WNBA allegiance is, it’s been apparent that Clark is a premium ratings driver for the league. When Clark is on the court, people are watching.
An anticipated sellout crowd will get a chance to see her live and in person on Thursday in San Francisco. And millions more will be watching across the country, and even the broader world.
Bay Area girls basketball coaches are tuned in as well.
“I love watching her play, and count me in when her games are televised,” Scheppler said. “It’s on the DVR.”
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