After months of speculation, Caitlin Clark is officially a member of the Indiana Fever after being selected with the first pick in the WNBA draft. Clark is fired up about joining the Fever and promises it is going to be worth the price of admission to attend Indiana games.
The star’s message to Fever fans: “buy your tickets now.”
“I’m excited to get there,” Clark said in an April 15, 2024 interview with ESPN minutes after being selected. “I’m excited to get to Indianapolis. … I know there’s a lot of people at Gainbridge [Fieldhouse] tonight supporting us and the picks that we’re going to make.
“So, I know they’ll be supporting all summer long. You got to buy your tickets now. I know it’ll be a hot ticket, but I think the biggest thing is just do me, have fun, smile. I’ve loved playing basketball since I was a young girl and that’s not going to change.”
Caitlin Clark on Joining the WNBA: ‘The Talent Level Around Me Is Going to Be Really, Really Good’
Indiana selects Caitlin Clark with the No. 1 pick 🔥
Despite setting records at Iowa, there have been some skepticism about how Clark’s game will translate to the WNBA. Clark pointed to her passing ability as one thing that should help ease the transition.
“I think my passing, and I think that’s even the biggest thing throughout my college career, too is everybody always fell in love with my shooting or like my scoring,” Clark explained to ESPN’s Holly Rowe during an April 14 feature interview. “But I’ve always been somebody that has loved to pass the ball.
“I think that’s something I developed at a young age. So, being able to get my teammates open. Be able to hit my teammates in transition. I love to play uptempo. I love to play fast and obviously, going to the WNBA, the talent level around me is going to be really, really good. So, it should only make my job easier feeding them the ball.”
Caitlin Clark: I’ve Never Been One to Weigh the Opinions of Haters Too Much’
17,000 fans in Indiana react to Caitlin Clark being drafted 🤯 (via @z10nbr0wn)
For Clark, it is a balance between leaning on her confidence and realizing there will be a transition as she heads into the WNBA. As for the haters, Clark admitted it is not anything new, even as she heads to the WNBA.
“I’ve never been one to weigh the opinions of haters too much,” Clark explained. “I was told at the level you feel all the praise, that’s going to be the same level you feel all the hate. So, I feel like I just try to stay right in the middle and everybody’s entitled to their own opinions.
“But I think the biggest thing for myself is just having confidence in who I am, and what I’ve been able to do with my career. And by no means do I think I’m going to go in there and score 30 points a game, but I think I’m confident in my abilities.”
Clark will not have much time to rest with less than two months between the end of the NCAA tournament and the start of the WNBA season. The Fever face the Connecticut Sun on May 14 in what is expected to be Clark’s pro debut.
Comments
Caitlin Clark Reveals 1st Reaction to Joining WNBA’s Fever With Challenge