Caitlin Clark, who smashed records on and off the court in a dazzling US college career, on Monday was selected first in the WNBA draft amid expectations she would have a transformative effect on women’s professional basketball.
The Indiana Fever made it official, taking the 22-year-old Iowa Hawkeyes star with the first pick in front of a rapt crowd at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
“I got a little anxious there before the pick,” Clark said in an interview with ESPN. “I’ve dreamed of this moment since I was in second grade and it’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of ups and downs. I told my mom before this: ‘You know, I earned it, and that’s why I’m so proud of it.’”
Photo: AFP
The Fever won the 2012 WNBA crown, but have not been to the playoffs since 2016.
They had the second-lowest attendance in the league last year with an average of 4,066 fans per game, but with Clark on board alongside last year’s overall top pick Aliyah Boston, in Indiana all that seems set to change.
In anticipation of her selection, the WNBA had already scheduled 36 of the Fever’s 40 games next season for national television.
Even before the draft the Fever had begun selling a limited amount of single-game tickets, betting that the basketball-mad state of Indiana would be prime territory for “Clark-mania.”
Seats for games against Connecticut and Los Angeles sold out within hours of going on sale.
Everyone wants to see the two-time National Player of the Year, whose fame is built on a foundation of on-court excellence that saw her eclipse Pete Maravich’s 54-year-old all-time college basketball scoring record.
Her remarkable long-range shooting prowess made for a stream of highlight-reel baskets. She averaged 31.6 points per game as she led Iowa to the NCAA championship game for a second straight year.
They were beaten both times, but thanks to Clark’s impact the Hawkeyes set or broke attendance records in all but two of their games.
This month’s title game, in which South Carolina vanquished Clark’s Iowa, drew an average audience of 18.7 million viewers.
That made it the most watched women’s basketball game in history and the most watched basketball game of any kind — men’s or women’s, college or professional — since 2019.
Clark’s face adorns cereal boxes and State Farm Insurance billboards, and just last week she appeared as herself on the late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live.
“Obviously, the course of the last few weeks has been pretty insane in my life,” Clark said. “I’m just very lucky to be in this moment, and all these opportunities and these things, they’re once in a lifetime. This isn’t something everybody gets to do.”
While Clark’s trademark is explosive scoring, her coaches and teammates have touted her maturity and high basketball IQ, and Clark said that would be key as she joins Boston and the rest of her new teammates in trying to revive the Fever’s fortunes.
Clark is part of a draft class loaded with talent.
The Los Angeles Sparks took Stanford forward Cameron Brink with the second pick and the Chicago Sky took South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso of Brazil third overall.
Cardoso was a cornerstone of South Carolina’s unbeaten season — capped by their win over Clark and Iowa for the title.
Cardoso is to be joined in Chicago by Angel Reese — the flamboyant forward who led Louisiana State University to victory over Iowa in last year’s women’s final.
Reese was taken seventh overall by the Sky.
“The WNBA is so competitive right now,” Clark said. “So you’d better bring it every single night — and I think that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
“Please love us. Please cheer us on. We have been working hard. Do not give up on us.” Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien’s heartfelt plea echoed across the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 tournament after a historic victory. Rather than boasting, Chen was making an earnest appeal after leading Taiwan to a 4-0 victory over Japan to claim their first major international baseball title at the senior level. Chen’s decisive three-run homer in the fifth inning and his Premier12 leading .632 batting average secured him the Premier12’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. He was also named one of the tournament’s outstanding defensive players
WELL-AGED: Although the youngest team in the tournament, Taiwan featured several veteran stars, including Sunday’s home-run hero Chen Chieh-hsien “I will never forget today,” veteran Taiwanese pitcher Chen Kuan-yu said after Taiwan on Sunday night blanked Japan to secure their first ever gold in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 championship. Chen, who at 34 is the oldest member on the team, said Taiwan “made every difficult step to come to today’s victory. I will never forget today.” Taiwan made history when they won their first gold medal of the Premier12 tournament, beating Japan in a 4-0 shutout victory in the final at the Tokyo Dome. It was a jaw-dropping victory for many baseball commentators who went into the game with
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
RSS