The 2025 WNBA season will likely always be remembered as the year Caitlin Clark spent more time on the sideline than on the court, but it may also be the year that reshaped how she sees leadership.

Clark, the Indiana Fever‘s two-time All-Star guard and one of the biggest personalities in professional sports, appeared in just 13 of the team’s 41 games this season due to a string of soft-tissue injuries, including quad and groin strains and a bone bruise suffered while rehabbing other issues.

Those setbacks eventually forced the Fever to rule her out for the remainder of the campaign, prioritizing her long-term health.

Before 2025, Clark had never missed a game in her collegiate career at Iowa or during her rookie WNBA season. Her abrupt and prolonged absence was a new and unwelcome experience for the 23-year-old.

Yet rather than let frustration define her narrative, she turned it into a lesson in perspective and connection.

Learning a valuable lesson on leadership

“I think more than anything, it teaches you how to really be a great teammate and a good leader, and understand what teammates go through,” Clark said during a recent interview at USA Basketball Camp at Duke University.

“If I have a teammate hurt going forward, I’m always gonna be the one that texts them and checks on them. Just pouring into your teammates, you can do that whether you play or you don’t play.”

Clark‘s rookie season ignited unprecedented growth for the Fever and the WNBA, helping propel record attendance and viewership.

In 2024, she won Rookie of the Year and made the AllWNBA first team, setting expectations skyhigh for her sophomore campaign. But the physical toll of back-to-back seasons and the grueling demands of elite competition caught up with her.

Her 2025 WNBA season unfolded like a series of starts and stops. Clark first missed time with left leg soreness and a quad strain, returned to score 32 points in a standout performance against the New York Liberty, only to be sidelined again by a left groin injury.

When she finally got back on the court, a right groin issue landed her back on the sidelines, a turn of events that ultimately kept her out of the All-Star Game in her home arena of Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

It was a stark contrast to the nonstop action that had defined her career up to that point, and even teammates noticed how much the injury cycle weighed on her mentally.

Throughout the season, Clark still tried to contribute wherever possible, cheering loudly from the bench, encouraging younger players, and showing up to support her team even when she couldn’t play.