Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark plans to take a well-earned break from basketball after a historic rookie WNBA season that captivated fans and drew unprecedented media attention. But before starting her holiday she dropped a subtle but powerful message to friends and foes.

“I feel like I had a solid year,’ she said following an 87-81 elimination loss to the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday night. “But for me I feel like I’m just scratching the surface.”

Take note, social media haters. Take note fellow WNBA players, especially those who couldn’t contain their jealousy over the attention and notoriety Ms. Clark received. Take note, anyone who couldn’t appreciate her generational talent and insisted it was all about color and race. 

Take note, game officials who let her get knocked around more than any respected player should, and take note, WNBA which must seize the moment and maximize its financial resources to benefit its players. The Caitlin Clark era is just getting started. “It’s a good little taste of what’s possible for this organization and this franchise,” she said.

There were plenty of memorable moments during Ms. Clark’s rookie season during which she averaged 19.2 points and 8.4 assists per game. But first things first. The hate speech has to end along with the attacks on Ms. Clark, and the attacks on opponents of Ms. Clark. Social media has enhanced the exposure of the WNBA and its players. It’s also exposed an element that lacks class.

 “There’s a lot of hurtful, hateful speech out there that’s happening and it’s unacceptable,” Indiana Fever Coach Christie Sides said after Wednesday’s loss. “It’s unacceptable for any of these guys. This is basketball. This is their job and they’re doing the best they can and when it gets personal, to me there’s no reason for it. These guys have to listen and watch that. Social media is their life. This is what they do, and they have to read and see these things constantly.”

Despite what Ms. Sides called “outside noise,” Ms. Clark lived up to the enormous hype surrounding her entry into the WNBA after her recording-setting collegiate career at Iowa where she left as college basketball’s all-time leading scorer.  

The first overall selection went straight from losing the national championship game to South Carolina to making her WNBA debut a month later and struggling to a 1-8 start. Amid an unprecedented spotlight and newfound television exposure, Ms. Clark and the Fever improved gradually until they were 20-20 and qualified for the playoffs where they were eliminated by the Sun in two games.

“They handled it and kept showing up and kept coming in our locker room and kept finding ways to get better and we freaking landed in the playoffs after we started 1-8,” Ms. Sides said. “That’s an incredible story to talk about.”

Regardless of what happens the rest of the way in the WNBA Playoffs, Ms. Sides deserves to be the Coach of the Year for recovering from the rocky to start after 13 wins last season and five the year before.  Ms. Clark will be the Rookie of the Year and deservedly so. Playing through all the hard fouls that were seldom called, she set WNBA records for most points by a rookie, the first rookie to record two triple-doubles, most league assists, fastest player to reach 100 three-pointers, fastest player to reach 350 points and 150 assists to start a season, etc., etc., etc.

“Basketball has consumed my life for a year,” Ms. Clark said. “I think it’ll be good for me to reflect back on everything that happened. I feel like I didn’t really have time to reflect on my college career because it ended so fast and then I came here and was trying to give everything I could to this team and help this team get back to the playoffs. I feel like taking some time to myself and really enjoy that and reflect back that it was special.”

The Caitlin Clark haters will learn she is the best thing to happen to the WNBA. It began with charter flights becoming standard, unprecedented television exposure, a new media rights deal worth $200 million annually and added appreciation for the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Those who suggest the WNBA pioneers of the past deserve recognition should figure out a way to tell their story that without criticizing players of the present.

“It’s a new world we’re in and it’s just unacceptable when it gets personal for these guys to have to deal with that,” Ms. Sides said.

Now we’ll see just how deep the Caitlin Clark effect has impacted the WNBA as it continues it’s postseason without its star attraction. The top-seeded New York Liberty and the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces meet in the semifinals. The best-of-five series with Game 1 on Sunday is a rematch of last year’s finals won by the Aces, a No. 4 seed this year. It matches the past two Most Valuable Players, A’ja Wilson for the Aces and Brenna Stewart for the Liberty. The pair have five MVP awards between them. Sebrina Ionesca also stars for the Liberty, while the Aces are sparked by Kelsey Plum.

Connecticut visits the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday in the other semifinal. Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier scored 42 points Wednesday to complete a two-game sweep of the Phoenix Mercury. Her 80 points over a two-game playoff stretch is a WNBA record.  It will be the sixth consecutive semifinal for the Sun. Connecticut has played in the final four times, including two years ago but has never won.

Unprecedented national television exposure thanks to Ms. Clark introduced the WNBA’s best players to record-breaking audiences. Now we’ll see if viewers stick around now that Ms. Clark is gone.