Caitlin Clark returned to a basketball court on Friday. It had been 150 days since Clark played in an official, competitive basketball game. And while she didn’t play in a professional game on Friday, she was seen practicing, at full speed, without restrictions, at Team USA’s basketball training camp at Duke University.
Clark was limited to playing in just 13 games during the WNBA‘s regular season last year due to a nagging groin injury. Her final game of the season came on July 15, when the Indiana Fever took on the Connecticut Sun. She would be shutdown for the season not long after when doctors reportedly determined she would not be able to fully recover in time to return during the 2025 season.
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With Clark popping-up virtually everywhere on Friday, from practice videos emerging with Team USA to Clark’s press conferences with reporters, the basketball world appears happy to have their favorite superstar back in action.
Caitlin Clark Asked if She Plans to Play in Project B Basketball League
During Clark’s media availability on Friday, one reporter asked Clark an interesting question. With talk of a potential lockout hovering over the WNBA, with the league and its players not being able to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement (yet), other professional basketball leagues continue to show themselves as legitimate alternatives to the WNBA.
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Clark was asked if she plans to play in the new “Project B” league, a 5-on-5 men’s and women’s basketball league backed by multiple prominent investors, including Candace Parker, Novak Djokovic, and others. Clark gave a definitive answer on if she plans to participate in this new league.
“I plan to play in the WNBA,” Clark said.
Many surrounding the world of women’s basketball believe Clark is a prime candidate to take her talents to “Project B”, as a handful of her Fever teammates have already confirmed their participation with the upstart league. As of Friday, those players include Sophie Cunningham and Kelsey Mitchell.
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Clark also acknowledged that the WNBA has work to do to ensure its league is fully operational come next season.
“Obviously, that’s another thing we need to get done, so we have a season coming up here,” Clark said.
The savvy Clark, then turned her answer in a different, more positive direction, highlighting how the popularity of women’s basketball continues to grow, and multiple rival leagues coming to fruition is proof of that, even if many view these leagues as a threat to the stability of the WNBA.
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“I think more than anything it showcases what people think of women’s basketball. All of these different opportunities, all these different leagues. The platform they want to give women’s basketball. Where they think women’s basketball is going to continue to grow. I think that’s probably the thing that pops into my mind. People are really believing and putting their money where their mouth is, and that hasn’t always been the case for women’s basketball no matter how great it’s been over the course of the last 25 or 30 years. In my mind, that’s probably what I’m most proud of is how excited people are and wanting to invest in women’s basketball,” Clark said.
The world will have to wait and see if the WNBA’s league office and its players will be able to come to terms on a new CBA rather than being forced into a lockout this season. Until then, it doesn’t appear Clark will look for an alternative league to occupy her time.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Dec 13, 2025, where it first appeared in the WNBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
