The WNBA has exploded in popularity largely thanks to the addition of Indiana Fever phenom Caitlin Clark. Clark, who broke the all-time NCAA basketball scoring record for men and women in her collegiate career,

WNBA stars like Cameron Brink, Caitlin Clark and others, who are not playing in the inaugural season of Unrivaled, are gearing up for the 2025 WNBA season.

We’re dealing with that now in Phoenix as the X-Factor deals with the departure of Brittney Griner, the most visible star in the history of the WNBA and perhaps all of team sports.

Aliyah Boston and Brittney Griner had a tense, physical exchange during Vinyl BC's 84-71 victory over Phantom BC in an Unrivaled game on Monday.

Known for her downhill style of play, she expanded on her speed and athleticism with Brittney Griner in pick-and-rolls ... The WNBA’s attendance ballooned overall, partly because of Caitlin Clark’s rookie season. But Clark visited Phoenix only once.

There's no doubt Clark's presence would have been a boon for the startup Unrivaled league. In her first season with the Fever, WNBA broadcasts featuring Clark averaged 1.19 million viewers, per Nielsen. Games without Clark averaged 394,000.

📰 Griner, of course, crossed into the wider cultural consciousness in 2020, when she began kneeling during pre-game national anthem performances to protest police killings and racial injustice. While playing overseas in early 2022, law enforcement at a Russian airport arrested Griner after finding vape cartridges with cannabis oil in her bags.

The Phoenix Mercury add a perennial MVP candidate in Alyssa Thomas, but lose one of the faces of the franchise to the Atlanta Dream

After 11 seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, center Brittney Griner is joining a new team. With WNBA free agency kicking off earlier in January, many free agents have been negotiating with different teams across the league.

Caitlin Clark will return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena and the University of Iowa on May 4 when the Indiana Fever will take on the Brazilian national team in a preseason game, the team announced on Thursday.