Well, it seems like Caitlin Clark is trading in her basketball shoes for a microphone.
For now, anyway.
The WNBA’s starlet is trying something new this offseason and will join NBC Sports as a special contributor on their NBA broadcasts. It will be the first time the Indiana Fever star and No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft will try out broadcasting in any regular capacity. NBC is debuting “Basketball Night in America,” and Clark will join them for a Feb. 1 game between the LA Lakers and New York Knicks.
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After an injury-riddled 2025 WNBA season, Clark’s only appearance on the basketball court since July was a short Team USA camp in the fall. After months of recovering from a quad strain, multiple groin strains, and an ankle injury, Clark seemed in good spirits at camp. It is expected she will make her Team USA senior team debut this March as the team heads to China for a FIBA Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament.
From there, the rest of Clark’s summer plans are still up in the air. After the WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement expired on Jan. 9, there have been few updates on the state of negotiations. The league and players appear to be at a standstill on several negotiation points, including revenue sharing, salaries, and more. Despite not having a contract yet, the WNBA released its 2026 season schedules last week, previewing a potential 44-game season that would start on May 8.
Still, none of that happens unless a contract can be agreed upon.
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Unlike many of her peers, Clark also isn’t playing in an offseason league right now. Unrivaled is well into its second season down in Miami, Athletes Unlimited is launching soon in Nashville, and many other players are in the middle of seasons in Europe, China, and Australia. Clark was rumored to have been offered a spot at Unrivaled, but did not take them up on the offer.
She’s not the first WNBA player to choose the path of broadcasting as an offseason job. WNBA players like Candace Parker, Kia Nurse, and Clark’s own teammate Sophie Cunningham have opted to go the broadcasting route while the WNBA isn’t in season. It will definitely be interesting to see how Clark adapts to talking about basketball on camera as opposed to just letting her on-court game shine through. Other than press conferences over her career and a few podcast appearances with the Kelce brothers, Clark hasn’t done many public speaking appearances.
Many people are probably wondering how she will do on the broadcast, as sometimes athletes struggle with the transition. It’s definitely a different way of speaking about the game than she’s used to, and sometimes, athletes (especially ones that are still playing) are too vague and complimentary on broadcasts, afraid to step on any peers’ toes. WNBA player turned NBA analysts like Parker prove there is a possibility that it goes the other way, and that Clark instead provides detailed breakdowns of the game that add to the broadcast. It’s hard to tell which way Caitlin will lean — we know she loves the game more than anything, so maybe that will make it so that she can provide some great tidbits and insights during her hits.
And while Clark won’t be joining every NBC broadcast, with the only dates announced so far being Feb. 1 and Mar. 29 for her to join the show, this could lead to more appearances. While Clark surely isn’t leaving basketball anytime soon, only heading into her third WNBA season in 2026, maybe this is a dip into what she may want to pursue after everything is said and done?
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NBC definitely scored one of the biggest names in basketball to join their new show. Now, will she be one of the most interesting? Only time will tell on that front.
