Caitlin Clark admitted what WNBA team she grew up watching, and one reporter decided to run with it on Wednesday.
“I grew up loving the Minnesota Lynx. I probably shouldn’t say that anymore,” Clark said with a laugh on Wednesday during her introductory press conference with the Indiana Fever.
KSTP’s Chris Long posted in reaction with “file this away for future free agency” with a mischievous face emoji on X, formerly Twitter. The Fever drafted Clark, the former Iowa superstar, with the No. 1 pick in the draft on Monday while the Lynx picked Utah’s Alissa Pili with the No. 8 pick in the draft.
Indiana has Clark for at least three seasons, barring a trade, with her three-year rookie deal. She will make $76,535 as a rookie, $78,066 in 2025, and $85,873 for 2026. The Fever can give her a fourth-year option of at least $97,582 in 2027.
What Clark could make down the road remains to be seen as the popularity of the WNBA takes off. Front Office Sports reported that the league sold out the draft, the Fever ticket prices skyrocketed, the Las Vegas Aces will play in a bigger arena, and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert “hope [s] to ‘double’ media rights.”
“That was all before Caitlin Clark — and now, she’s arrived,” Front Office Sports wrote on X.
Caitlin Clark Not on Lynx’s Radar Yet
As for the Lynx hypothetically pouncing on Clark in 2027 or 2028, the organization could pay a high price — higher than what it would have taken to trade for the No. 1 pick. Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve refused to tank in 2023, and she called a trade for Clark highly unrealistic before the draft.
“How do I say this?” Reeve told the Star Tribune’s Kent Youngblood in March. “Not a chance … People are going to say, ‘Sell the farm to get her.’ Well, the farm ain’t going to be enough to get her.”
Clark grew up watching the Lynx at the franchise’s height amid four championships between 2011 and 2017. Minnesota has fallen on hard times in the past two seasons, however, with a 14-22 mark in 2022 and 19-21 record in 2023.
Caitlin Clark Looks to Change Fever’s Narrative
The Fever have a much longer drought than the Lynx amid seven-consecutive losing seasons and no playoffs since 2016. Indiana won the title once back in 2012 amid a four-year run of either the finals or a conference finals appearance.
“I was just ready for a new challenge and something new in my life,” Clark told reporters. “I felt like I had done everything at Iowa that I possibly could, and we did a lot of amazing things. To be able to come here and stay in the Midwest — it’s only five hours from Iowa City, seven hours from where I grew up [in Des Moines], you really can’t script it any better. It was really a no-brainer for me.”
Watch Live: Caitlin Clark Introductory Press Conference
Clark believes she can help get the Fever back to winning, too. Indiana will have two recent No. 1 picks on the roster now with Aliyah Boston as the other.
“There’s just so much talent on this roster,” Clark said. “Obviously, Aliyah has been one of my teammates before with USA Basketball and I know first-hand how great she is. Erica Wheeler is somebody that’s been having my back and we’re not even teammates yet. A vet, somebody that’s been in the league for a really long time. As a point guard you need someone to lean on, that’s going to have your back, to ask questions.”
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Caitlin Clark Gaffe Leads to Reporter’s Free Agency Idea