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.”
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about ￡2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
Less than a week after splashing out a world-record fee for Naomi Girma, Chelsea has spent big again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the English Women’s Super League. Walsh left European champions Barcelona after more than two years to join Chelsea for a reported ￡400,000 (US$496,000) on Friday. Walsh was the world’s most expensive player for two years after moving to Barcelona from Manchester City for a reported ￡400,000 in 2022. That status now belongs to Girma, the US defender who cost Chelsea a reported ￡900,000 to sign from the San Diego Wave. Still, it means 27-year-old Walsh — a technically
Ousmane Dembele on Wednesday scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 4-1 win at VfB Stuttgart and qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. PSG were at risk of elimination after a disappointing league stage, with three losses and a draw, but were utterly dominant against an outclassed Stuttgart side as they confirmed their place in the playoffs. With six minutes gone, Bradley Barcola headed PSG in front after Desire Doue stood a cross up at the back post following a corner. Stuttgart probed for an equalizer, but PSG hit on the counterattack, Dembele tapping a Barcola pass into an
RSS