Caitlin Clark tipped as bigger star than LeBron James and $55,761,216 superstar by Fox Sports Radio Host

For Fox Sports radio host Jason Smith, there is no bigger basketball star at the moment than WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever. Smith said Clark is larger than LeBron James of the LA Lakers and Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors.

The host made his case on his radio program on Friday, highlighting that what Clark has done for women's basketball in terms of popularity in such a short period of time is practically unprecedented.

To further prove his point, Smith cited the WNBA's star refusal to participate in a special three-point challenge in this year's NBA All-Star Weekend in San Francisco.

With her declining, the event, which was reported to feature her alongside Curry, who is earning $55,761,216 this season, Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty and Klay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks, was scrapped altogether.

Smith said:

"Caitlin Clark is the biggest star in professional basketball; bigger than LeBron, bigger than Steph, bigger than Giannis [Antetokounmpo], bigger than Wemby (Victor Wembanyama). What she does affects everybody. She moves the needle more than anybody in the NBA does."

Caitlin Clark has taken basketball in general by storm. Following an illustrious collegiate career at Iowa, where she rewrote NCAA history with her impressive scoring that led her to become a huge draw for fans, she took her talents in the WNBA and was widely credited for bringing renewed interest from both old and new fans. It led to marked improvements in the league's TV viewership and gate attendance.

On the floor, she was outstanding during her rookie season, posting numbers of 19.2 points, 8.4 assists (league-high), 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals to finish as the best rookie and fourth in the MVP voting. She also helped the Fever reach the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

To cap an eventful year, she was named Time Magazine's Athlete of the Year for 2024.

Caitlin Clark shares reason for passing on NBA All-Star 3-point challenge

Caitlin Clark was approached to participate in a special 3-point challenge at this year's NBA All-Star Weekend but politely declined. The event would have seen her compete alongside NBA stars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, as well as fellow WNBA All-Star Sabrina Ionescu.

In declining, Clark's representatives at Excel Sports said the Indiana Fever star wanted her first 3-point contest to come at the WNBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis next season but that she was open to revisiting the idea after that.

Clark's participation in the NBA All-Star festivities would have added further star power to the proceedings, considering her immense following.

In her rookie season, the former Iowa star shot 34.4% from three while setting a new WNBA record for most threes made by a rookie in a season with 122. It broke the previous record of Rhyne Howard of 85 set in 2022.