Caitlin Clark’s Dreams Come True and the Indiana Fever

It was a historic day for the Indiana Fever when they were the 2024 WNBA Draft Lottery winners back in December. The news broke that the Fever would have the top pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft—their second consecutive season of selecting first overall—to a boisterous watch party at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where general manager Lin Dunn and Fever players Lexie Hull and Grace Berger were among the prominent attendees.

A few hundred miles away in Madison, Wisconsin, someone else was keeping close tabs on the lottery results.

When the lottery came on, Caitlin Clark was actually in the middle of a game, leading the University of Iowa to an 87-65 victory away from Wisconsin while scoring 28 points. But Clark was really interested in the lottery winner, as he was already thinking about declaring for the WNBA Draft. After her game, she looked up the outcome and was pleasantly delighted.

“I was hoping that Indiana got the first pick,” Clark said. “It would have made my life a lot better. So when I saw that, I was pretty excited.”

The rest of the story is well-documented. Clark completed her collegiate career under an unprecedented spotlight. She broke the women’s and men’s all-time scoring records, added a plethora of awards to her already crowded trophy case, and helped lead Iowa to a second straight national championship game appearance. 18.7 million people tuned in to watch the national title game between Iowa and South Carolina on April 7, a larger audience than the 14 million fans that tuned in to the men’s title game.

Clark announced her intentions to declare for the WNBA Draft in a social media post on Feb. 29. On Monday night, the Fever made perhaps the most obvious decision in WNBA draft history, taking Clark with the first overall pick.

There was the anticipated amount of excitement when Clark arrived at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday morning. When she walked over Salesforce Court on the red carpet, the whole Pacers Sports & Entertainment team welcomed her. After meeting with head coach Rick Carlisle, guard Tyrese Haliburton of the Pacers, Hall-of-Famer Tamika Catchings, and Dunn, she went to the Ascension St. Vincent Entry Pavilion with Christie Sides, the head coach of the Fever, for her news conference.

To to Clark, “These are the moments you dream of.” “..There just isn’t a better environment for me to launch my career. A place with a championship background that genuinely does things the right way, supports women’s basketball, and adores basketball. Simply put, I’m grateful that they have belief in me.”

There has never been a player in the WNBA who has been as hyped and surrounded as Clark is wherever she goes. She was in New York City for an unexpected appearance on “Saturday Night Live” two nights prior to the draft. She has appeared in several well-known advertisements and sponsorships. Jake from State Farm was among Clark’s supporters at Monday night’s draft, in addition to her family, her old coach, and her Iowa teammates.

Almost 6,000 people attended a draft night watch party at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Parents invited their daughters and sons to participate in the event; many of them were residents of Indianapolis, but some had traveled more than five hours from Iowa. When the Fever drafted Clark and Clark-branded items flew off the shelves at the Team Store, balloons dropped from the rafters.

“I believe it simply illustrates the anticipation of what this summer holds,” Clark remarked. “Incredible women’s basketball exists in this state.6,000 people gathered only to watch the results of a draft and gaze at a screen is quite amazing.

Thus, I anticipate a high number this summer. People are, in my opinion, incredibly enthusiastic about the direction this organization is taking, the players on its roster, and its future.

Although their first game together won’t be until training camp starts the following week, Clark is already getting to know her new teammates.

Aliyah Boston, the top pick in 2023 and the current Rookie of the Year, was a part of the television coverage of both the WNBA Draft and the Final Four in recent weeks, so she has had a lot of interaction with Boston.

On Wednesday, Clark made light of former Indiana University standout Berger’s criticism of her, saying, “Hopefully a lot of them turn into Indiana Fever fans,” when Iowa played in Bloomington.

Erica Wheeler, a seasoned guard, is the player who has embraced Clark the most. This distinction is particularly significant because it appears that Clark will replace Wheeler in the starting lineup.

 

While the 32-year-old veteran played point guard for the Fever in all 40 games last season, averaging 9.9 points and 5.0 assists, Wheeler has shown her support by contacting Clark on social media and expressing her desire to serve as a mentor for her first campaign. Wheeler, Hull, and Maya Caldwell were present for the draft celebration on Monday night. When the Fever formally selected Clark, Wheeler was ecstatic, running to center court and putting on Clark’s number 22 Fever jersey in a hurry. Early in her news conference, Clark addressed Wheeler specifically, calling her “someone that’s been having my back and we’re not even officially teammates yet.”

Regarding Wheeler, Clark remarked, “She has such a beautiful attitude about her, but she also wants the best for every single person on that squad.” “It’s just so evident, in my opinion, how she conducts herself, how she speaks about other people, how she carries herself, and how she was leaping up and down as soon as I was selected and put the jersey on. She couldn’t be any more thrilled, in my opinion.

“How fortunate am I to join an organization with someone who has experience in the league, is aware of it, and supports my success?” It is impossible to ask for more than this.

Although Clark only had his first formal meeting with Sides on Wednesday, he is excited to absorb knowledge from the Fever’s head coach. In her first season in Indiana, Sides led the Fever to 13 victories, an eight-win increase over 2022. She is also quite vivacious.

Clark said playing for Sides was another factor in her decision to enter the draft and that she expects her new coach to push her, before dropping in a little self-deprecation.

“I think she probably sees there’s a lot more she can get out of me,” Clark said. “She’ll probably yell at me for my defense at some point. I’ll probably learn to love it, I’m sure. Or make up for it with my offense, I don’t know.”

The anticipation for Clark’s rookie season is truly unprecedented. Virtually every post of her takes off on social media, fan interest in tickets and merchandise is at an all-time high. The league clearly expects fans everywhere to tune in to watch Clark hoist 3-pointers from the logo, scheduling 36 of the Fever’s 40 regular season games to be nationally televised.