Caitlin Clark is ‘Taylor Swift 2.0’: Fever coach Stephanie White

Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White isn’t concerned about Caitlin Clark’s seismic celebrity interfering with her game.

The Fever guard was the No. 1 overall pick by Indiana in the 2024 WNBA Draft, and was named a WNBA All-Star and the Rookie of the Year.

Clark’s fame carried over from her college days at Iowa — where she became the NCAA’s all-time leading Division I scorer for men and women — and it helped increase the WNBA’s viewership and revenue in her rookie season.

During a Q&A with The Athletic, White praised the 23-year-old Clark for how she handles being one of the most famous basketball players in the world, and compared the superstar guard to her idol, Taylor Swift.

“I think first and foremost, she does an outstanding job of managing it all. Like, she’s incredibly humble,” White, who was hired last November, said Tuesday. “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,” White continued.

“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.”

Clark attended multiple concerts on Swift’s Eras Tour last year, and the pair shared a private box at the Chiefs-Texans playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 18.

They were seen talking while sitting next to each other — and at one point shared a hug.

White went on to explain that she’s focused on helping Clark grow on the court.

“From a coaching perspective, keep the main thing the main thing,” she said. “Help her protect her peace and then help her continue to grow on the basketball court. We let our players know sometimes you gotta minimize the noise around you and focus on what our job is. Our job is to put the best team and the best product on the floor that we’re capable of doing.”

Clark’s rise to fame started at Iowa, where she led the Hawkeyes to two consecutive Final Four appearances, including a loss to LSU in the NCAA championship game in 2023.

In her last regular-season game for the Hawkeyes on March 3, 2024, Clark passed Pete Maravich’s NCAA Division I scoring record — cementing her in the history books.

In her senior year, Clark played a major role in the dominance of women’s basketball and the sold-out crowds throughout Iowa’s season — which added as much as $82.5 million to the state’s economy, according to a report from the Common Sense Institute.

The spotlight came with endorsement deals and commercials from Nike, Wilson, State Farm and more, along with a surprise cameo on “SNL” last April.

Clark was named Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year interview last December.

White also mentioned that Clark has been in the weight room this past offseason and that she has seen a physical change in the 6-foot guard.

“She is stronger, first and foremost,” White said. “She’s got a lot of self-awareness. She figured out right away that I need to get stronger, I can’t get knocked around as much. She’s done a great job of getting in the weight room and focusing on her strength, in terms of low center of gravity, time under tension, all of those things. I think the next step is efficiency. Not so many turnovers, higher field goal percentages.

“… For us as coaches, it’s moving her off the ball a little bit more so she’s not getting worn out in-game. We’re challenging her on the defensive end of the floor, as well — being a better defender. As an opponent, you want to attack a good offensive player by making them play on the defensive end, putting them through the wringer. We will be creative as a staff in how we utilize her and how we utilize her talents.”

White joined the Fever after two seasons as head coach of the Connecticut Sun, which included two consecutive WNBA semifinal appearances.

The Fever open their 2025 season against the Chicago Sky in Indianapolis on May 17.