By Jordan Morey | FeverBasketball.com
There was never a doubt who the Indiana Fever would select with the first pick in Monday’s WNBA Draft. When a bonafide superstar like Caitlin Clark is available, the choice is easy.
Picking No. 1 overall for a second straight season, the Fever selected the phenom guard from the University of Iowa.
With Clark, the Fever acquired a transcendent talent that has already become a household name by captivating audiences with her savant-like skills on the court and incandescent spirit.
Now, she’s ready to make her mark on the WNBA.
In her four years with the Hawkeyes, Clark broke dozens of hoops records and collected scores of regional and national awards while leading Iowa to a 109-30 record, three Big 10 Tournament titles, and back-to-back NCAA Championship game appearances.
Clark’s jump shot is as pure as the Hoosier State’s love affair with basketball, and her other-worldly passing ability often resembles a maestro conducting a symphony. Her ability to hit 3-pointers from logo range, dish out gravity-defying dimes, and perform under pressure have elevated her to a place not many have reached before her.
While the boxscore can only tell so much about a player, Clark’s numbers were iconic in college.
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The two-time reigning Wooden, Naismith, and AP National Player of the Year-winner has scored the most points all-time of any college player with 3,951. With 1,444 career assists and 973 rebounds, she is also the first collegiate player in the men’s or women’s game to notch at least 3,800 points, 1,000 assists and 950 rebounds.
Clark’s 28.4 points per game average for her career and 548 made 3-pointers are both women’s D-I records, and her 201 3-pointers and 1,234 points were both D-I records in her senior season.
Across 39 games during the 2023-24 season, Clark averaged 31.6 points on 45.5 percent shooting (37.8 percent from 3-point range), 8.9 assists, and 7.4 rebounds per game. She led the NCAA in scoring in 2021, 2022, and 2024, and in assists each of the last three seasons.
As the women’s game has continued to grow in popularity, the Des Moines native has worked as an engine powering the surge over the last few years — especially at the collegiate level.
In addition to packing every arena she played in, millions tuned in to catch the magic of Clark and the Hawkeyes the last two seasons. Every time Clark played, it was a must-watch viewing experience.
The final three games of Clark’s career were the most-watched in the history of women’s basketball, punctuated by a reported 18.7 million people who tuned in to see the Iowa versus South Carolina game on April 7.
In no small part to Clark’s popularity, the women’s game drew a larger audience than the men’s NCAA final in 2024.
With the addition of Clark, expectations for the Fever are rising in 2025.
“Caitlin is one of the most naturally gifted basketball players I have ever seen enter the WNBA from the college level,” Fever head coach Christie Sides said. “Her shooting and passing abilities captivated an entire audience of basketball fans, and her ability to make those around her better was even more evident during her collegiate career. We can’t wait to bring her to Indiana and incorporate her into our locker room with a group ready to get back to the postseason.”
Indiana has struggled to maintain success in recent years, missing the playoffs in seven straight seasons. The Fever finished 10th of 12 teams in the league last year with a record of 13-27, and haven’t put together a winning season since 2015.
Over the last two seasons, the Fever have retooled their roster with top-tier talent. In Indiana, Clark joins a young core of talented players that includes another college legend: Aliyah Boston.
Last season, Boston, a center, finished with one of the most impressive rookie seasons in Fever history, averaging 14.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. Boston earned All-Star, All-Rookie Team, and Rookie of the Year honors in her first pro season.
Boston and Clark — both just 22 years old — could fill Salesforce Court with their trophies from their college and pro years. Both women have been invited to practice with Team USA leading up to the 2024 Olympics and could find themselves teamed up in Paris this summer.
While helping with the TV broadcast of the Final Four, Boston hinted at her excitement about pairing up with Clark.
“I think you just see everything,” Boston said. “Coach (Dawn) Staley talked about how she passes the ball, and I think that’s the biggest thing. Yes, you know she can shoot the ball, you know that she’s going to get a lot of attention. And because of that, her ability to find the right pass, make the pass, the timing of the pass, you see it all.”
After being drafted, Clark was equally excited about the idea of playing alongside Boston.
“She’s going to make my life easy,” Clark said. “She’s incredible. The thing I love about her is she’s just a great person. She loves the game, she knows the game, she supports the game. She has a smile that affects a lot of people and brings a lot of joy to people when they watch her. I can’t wait to be her teammate again.”
In addition to joining Boston, Clark will play with sharpshooting All-Star guard Kesley Mitchell (18.2 points per game in 2023), double-double machine NaLyssa Smith (14.5 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game), and Erica Wheeler (9.9 points per game, 5.0 assists per game), among other key returning Fever players.
Since Indiana learned they would have the No. 1 pick back in December, and Clark announced she would declare for the draft on Leap Day, Feb. 29, the buzz surrounding the Fever has become deafening.
Season and single-game ticket sales for Fever home and away games have exploded, with some teams, like the Las Vegas Aces, moving their matchup against Indiana to a larger arena to accommodate demand.
“She really fits the culture of what we’re building here,” Fever general manager Lin Dunn said. “Not only do we want great players on the court, we want great people in the community. And I think when you watch Caitlin Clark — what she does before the game and after the game, how fan-friendly she is, how much she gives back, her foundation — all of the things she does as a person fit with the type of people we want here. The great thing about her, she is a fantastic player and a fantastic person. So it’s a perfect fit for us.”
Those unable to see Clark and the Fever in person will have plenty of chances to catch her on TV during her rookie season. The Fever will have 36 of their 40 regular season games broadcast in 2024, including 10 times on ESPN, ABC or CBS.
Following the Hawkeyes’ loss to South Carolina in the national championship earlier this month, Clark said she didn’t sulk because that’s not how her family raised her. Instead, she’s “hungry” for the next step in her career.
“(I’m) going to a state that not only supports basketball, but women’s basketball,” Clark said. “Going and playing at Indiana (University), the place was sold out. Doing the same for the Fever is certainly our goal, and having a lot of fans there every single night. For myself, I can’t imagine a more perfect fit – a better place for me to start my professional career. An organization that just really just believes in women’s basketball and wants to do everything the right way. I couldn’t be more excited to get there.”
Clark’s new teammates are hungry, too, and the next generation of Indiana Fever basketball is shaping up to be a special one.
The Fever will open their season on May 14 at the Connecticut Sun before hosting Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty on May 16 for the home opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Season ticket packages and single game tickets are available now at FeverBasketball.com/Tickets.