Caitlin Clark taken No. 1 in WNBA Draft by Indiana Fever
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Record-setting college basketball star Caitlin Clark was taken by the Indiana Fever with the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft on Monday night, as expected.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert made the announcement at the event in Brooklyn, New York.
The University of Iowa standout, who finished her college career as the all-time scoring leader in NCAA Division I basketball history, was the second straight No. 1 pick in the draft for the Fever, who last year took Aliyah Boston from the University of South Carolina.
Clark is expected to have a major impact on the Fever, not only on the court, but in the stands, where the team ranked second to last in attendance in 2023, averaging 4,067 fans.
Her appeal was apparent Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where thousands of fans gathered to watch the draft on the video scoreboard.
The Fever also drafted Celeste Taylor from Ohio State with the 15th overall pick and Leilani Correa from Florida with the 27th overall pick.
Clark has helped bring millions of new fans to the game with her signature logo shots and dazzling passing ability. The Iowa star was a big reason why a record 18.9 million viewers tuned in to the NCAA championship game where the University of South Carolina beat her Hawkeyes.
The Fever won the top spot in the draft lottery after a 13-27 record, finishing the 2023 season five games out of the playoffs and in 10th place in the 12-team league. Clark will join an Indiana team that has missed the playoffs for seven straight seasons and went a franchise-worst 5-31 in 2022.
Clark’s transformation from generational college superstar to becoming the face of a WNBA franchise has been eagerly anticipated since Clark and the Hawkeyes started selling out arenas while getting record TV ratings over the past two seasons.
That is expected to continue at the pro level, and other teams began promoting their matchups against Clark well before the draft.
Two-time defending WNBA champion Las Vegas already has announced the Indiana game on July 2 will be played at T-Mobile Arena, which seats about 6,000 more fans than its traditional home venue.
The Phoenix Mercury also have dubbed the June 30 date against the Fever as “ The GOAT vs. The Rook,” capitalizing on a seemingly thinly veiled rivalry between Diana Taurasi and Clark.
How quickly and smoothly Clark adapts to bigger, stronger, more experienced opponents is a question. While most evaluators believe Clark’s shooting and passing skills will travel to the WNBA, there are questions about her defense and how the 6-foot, 155-pound point guard will deal with established stars unlikely to give the newcomer the red carpet treatment.
She’ll also have only a short break between the end of a demanding 39-game schedule that included becoming the focal point of every opposing defense and a highly publicized record-breaking scoring quest, and the mid-May start of a 40-game WNBA schedule. Playing on the U.S. Olympic Team also remains a possibility, too.
Indiana opens preseason play May 3 at Dallas with the regular-season opener set for May 14 at Connecticut. Clark’s home debut will be May 16 against New York, last season’s WNBA runner-up.
For women’s basketball fans, Clark’s pro career can’t start soon enough. And in Indy, Clark looks like the perfect answer for a franchise that’s had only 58 wins in the past seven seasons.
She’ll learn the rookie ropes from a poised point guard such as Erica Wheeler while teaming up with Boston, forward NaLyssa Smith (the No. 2 overall pick in 2022) and shooting guard Kelsey Mitchell (the No. 2 overall pick in 2018.)
It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Clark. After the title game, she flew to Los Angeles to receive the John R. Wooden Award and then came to New York for an appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”
“I think obviously the course of the last few weeks has been pretty insane in my life, the last two months playing basketball as long as I possibly could in my college career,” Clark said. “I think the biggest thing is I’m just very lucky to be in this moment, and all these opportunities and these things, they’re once in a lifetime.”
The draft was held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in front of 1,000 fans, who bought all the tickets within 15 minutes of them going on sale a few months ago.
Los Angeles chose Stanford’s Cameron Brink at No. 2. She’ll get to stay in California and gives the Sparks a two-way player.
“When they called my name, a huge wave of emotions hit me,” Brink said. “I saw my mom tearing up and my dad and it hit home.”
A prolific scorer, Brink was also the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. The Sparks needed to replace franchise player Nneka Ogwumike, who left for Seattle in free agency. Brink’s godmother, Sonya Curry, is the mother of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.
“I FaceTimed Steph five minutes before the show started and he said have fun with it,” Brink said. “He can share so much great advice since he’s been through this. Make stuff like this fun as it can be stressed.”
Chicago had the third pick and chose South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso before the Sparks were on the clock again and and selected Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson.
Cardoso had a busy week, helping the Gamecocks win the national championship to complete an undefeated season. She took part in the team’s championship parade on Sunday before traveling to New York.
Dallas took Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon with the fifth pick. Washington drafted Aaliyah Edwards of UConn sixth before Chicago took LSU’s Angel Reese at No. 7, pairing her with Cardoso.
“She’s a great player and I’m a great player. Nobody’s going to get no rebounds on us,” the 6-foot-7 Cardoso said, laughing.
Minnesota, which had swapped picks with Chicago, drafted Alissa Pili of Utah eighth.
A pair of French guards, Carla Leite and Leila Lacan, went next to Dallas and Connecticut, respectively.
New York drafted Ole Miss’ Marquesha Davis at No. 11 and Atlanta closed out the first round by taking Australian Nyadiew Puoch.
Video from Gainbridge Fieldhouse courtesy of Dan McGowan.