NBA commissioner Adam Silver: WNBA needs to 'take pressure' off Caitlin Clark

NBA commissioner Adam Silver knows a thing or two about the benefits of star power.

Silver joined the NBA's staff in 1992, and throughout his career, stars such as Michael Jordan and LeBron James have done wonders to grow the sport of basketball.

So what advice does the fifth commissioner in NBA history have for the WNBA as they try and balance the Caitlin Clark effect versus the growth of the league as a whole?

"I think Caitlin knows, she's ultimately got to prove it on the floor. You can't anoint stars in this league," Silver told ESPN's NBA Countdown panel before Game 3 of the NBA Finals. "There's other names that were on your list that were going to be the next fill-in-the-blank and they turned out not to be just because of their performance."

Silver does believe that Clark has all the makings to become one of the league's next big stars, but believes the league has a duty to protect the 22-year-old in any way it can.

"I believe she's going to deliver, she seems to have the character and the drive and the will and the talent," Silver told ESPN. "Let her evolve as a player. I want to take the pressure off her, not put more on her."

On Tuesday, the WNBA announced that over the first month of the season, the league drew its highest attendance since the league's second season in 1998 and the best television ratings in league history.

Much of the surge can be attributed to the additions of prominent rookies including Clark, Chicago Sky's Angel Reese and Los Angeles Sparks' Cameron Brink, who all became prominent figures during their time playing in the NCAA.

The league announced merchandise sales were also up 236 per cent from the same point in 2023, with Clark, Reese and Brink ranking in the top five for jersey sales during the first week of the season.