Caitlin Clark is 'Very Much Taylor Swift 2.0,' Fever HC Stephanie White Says

Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White likened superstar guard Caitlin Clark to Taylor Swift when asked by Richard Deitsch of The Athletic on the Sports Media Podcast about how she can manage the "circus" around her.

"I think first and foremost, she does an outstanding job of managing it all. Like, she’s incredibly humble. She understands the big picture. So she views it understanding her celebrity, No. 1. But No. 2, she’s a Midwest kid, a Midwest person and she is who she is. She tries to live her life in an authentic way. But she’s very much Taylor Swift 2.0.

"So I think from my perspective, and from our staff and franchise, it’s how do we help her navigate all of this? How do we help her protect her peace? Because it can be a lot. How can we be a resource for her? It’s a different level now with social media and fan engagement. We want to be a resource and help protect her.

"She’s an incredible kid. I call her a kid, but she’s obviously a young woman. An incredible talent. She’s an incredible human being. She works her tail off. There’s a reason she is who she is in terms of a player. She’s handled all of this with such grace and poise that most 23-year-olds wouldn’t be able to."

Swift is one of the world's most recognizable celebrities and artists, and Clark has become one of the United States' most popular athletes over the last few years. She was named Time Magazine's Athlete of the Year for 2024, and the WNBA notably set viewership and attendance records during her rookie year.

"The WNBA attracted an all-time record of more than 54 million unique viewers across all its national broadcasting platforms during the regular season, and the league’s overall attendance jumped 48% year over year to its highest level in more than two decades," Sean Gregory wrote for Time.

So there's obviously an incredible amount of attention around Clark, a media circus of sorts. That's what Swift faces, hence White's comparison, but the Fever's new coach clearly understands the need to help Indiana's star player manage it all.

Clark somehow exceeded her massive first-year expectations, earning All-Star and All-WNBA First Team honors while leading Indiana to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. White happened to be Indiana's coach back then as well before leaving for Vanderbilt and then the Connecticut Sun before making her way back to Indianapolis.

Now Clark enters year two with the spotlight still shining bright. As White noted, though, Clark has done an "outstanding job of managing it all," so it's clear any external factors shouldn't have an effect on her play.

If anything, Indiana could very well make another huge leap as the team looks to take the next step in hopes of a deep playoff run.