SUMMARY
- Caitlin Clark was recently selected as the No.1 overall pick in the WNBA.
- The 22-year-old remains baffled by the level of impact she has had on women's basketball.
Caitlin Clark is responsible for putting women’s basketball back on the map. Many believe that she will bring the WNBA to its peak based on the historic run she’s had in college. The University of Iowa star recently concluded her college, which unfortunately didn’t result in a NCAA Championship win. But she certainly owned the entire 2023-24 college basketball season.
View this post on Instagram
Just before making her final NCAA Tournament run, the 22-year-old announced that she was going to participate in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She was the obvious No.1 overall pick and without any surprise, the Indiana Fever welcomed her as the top pick earlier this week. Clark is currently preparing to suit up alongside former No.1 overall pick Aliyah Boston and Indiana’s All-Star Kelsey Mitchell.
Caitlin Clark was inspired by WNBA legend Maya Moore
Shortly after being drafted into the WNBA, Caitlin Clark joined Pat McAfee on his podcast. Clark spoke about being able to dominate the game of basketball and experience great levels of success. She said, “I feel like I always had super big goals and dreams and aspirations. But at the same time, this is a place women’s basketball has really never been before. So It’s like no, I never really imagined it on this magnitude.”
Clark broke multiple records this past season as she also became the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader. She broke Pete Maravich’s record that stood for 50 years. Clark also gave slight insight into her childhood as she said, “I’ve always been a big supporter of women’s basketball. It’s always been something I’ve loved ever since a young age. I grew up watching the Minnesota Lynx, they had a dynasty and Maya Moore was my favorite player growing up.”
Moore was responsible for giving the Lynx four WNBA titles. She was also a 6x WNBA All-Star, a steals leader, a scoring leader, and a former Rookie of the Year. Moore also saw a lot of success while playing for Team USA Basketball winning five gold medals between 2009 and 2016. The former WNBA player is also an advocate for people who have witnessed injustice. She played a major role in her husband’s release from prison after being wrongfully detained for over 20 years.
The Indiana Fever’s No.1 overall pick is ready to take over the WNBA
Caitlin Clark is inevitably going to bring a lot of success to the Fever organization in the future. However, the transition from college to the pro leagues has never been an easy task, even for some like Kelsey Plum. Clark addressed the shift by saying, “I think it’s something that’s really important for me. But I think I don’t know with the magnitude of where everything’s gone, I feel like I’ve tried to stay right in the middle.”
Indiana Fever players had the Caitlin jersey READY 😭
(via @IndianaFever)pic.twitter.com/3T5YWtGYua
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 16, 2024
She added, “I think one of the best pieces of advice that somebody gave me is at the level you feel all the praise, that’s the same level you’ll feel all the hate. So I try to stay right in the middle. But yeah, it doesn’t really bother me. I think it’s just what comes with it.” Clark is expected to make her debut during the 2024 NBA Preseason. The Fever will be playing against the Dallas Wings on May 3. Indiana’s regular season opener will be against the Connecticut Sun on May 14.