The Indiana Fever will almost certainly select University of Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark with the top pick in Monday night’s WNBA draft, paving the way to a professional stage for the game’s most transformative player.
The annual draft, now a must-see television event due to Clark’s immense fame, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.
Of course, Clark isn’t the only athlete to pursue a professional career. LSU’s Angel Reese announced her decision to enter the draft earlier this month via a Vogue photo shoot.
“I won a national championship, I was named (Southeastern Conference) Player of the Year, I was an All-American. My ultimate goal is to become a pro – and be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. I feel like I’m ready,” said the dynamic 6-foot-3 forward.
Standford’s Cameron Brink, Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson and South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso have all been in discussions to become the second player left out of Los Angeles in Monday night’s draft. Chicago has the third pick before the Sparks come back on the clock.
If and when Clark is chosen, all attention will focus on the Fever’s first preseason game, scheduled for May 3, against the Dallas Wings in Arlington. The team’s regular season opener is scheduled for May 14, when Indiana visits the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Indiana’s home opener will be two days later at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis against the New York Liberty.
The Fever finished last in the WNBA Eastern Conference last season, winning just 13 of 40 games. But Clark’s planned arrival in Indianapolis, less than 400 miles from Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena, has already been the subject of Fever’s television appointment.
The WNBA has scheduled 36 of Indiana’s 40 games to be broadcast on national broadcast and streaming partners. The Fever took that center stage 22 times last season.
The Iowa guard, with his precise shooting and powerful play, has just ended the most lauded career in the history of women’s college basketball.
The two-time national player of the year has brought unprecedented attention to women’s football.
She scored 30 points in the NCAA Division I championship game, finishing her career with 3,951 points, more than anyone in high-level college basketball history.
But it was Clark’s dynamic playing style that captured the public’s imagination and attracted record attention.
During Iowa’s national semifinal victory over perennial power Connecticut, an average of 14.2 million viewers tuned in to watch ESPN – the most for a basketball game, college or professional, on the all sports channel.
And when South Carolina beat Iowa to win the national championship, the Gamecocks’ winning coach, Dawn Staley, took time in her postgame comments to thank Clark for his contributions to the game.
Clark appeared on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend and got plenty of laughs, roasting “Weekend Update” co-anchor Michael Che and his long history of making jokes about women’s sports.
After the laughter, Clark ended the segment by sincerely thanking the pioneers of women’s soccer.
“Thank you to all the great players like Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, the great Dawn Staley and my basketball hero, Maya Moore,” Clark said.
“It was these women who broke down the door so I could come in,” she continued. “So I want to thank them tonight for laying the foundation.”
This is a developing story. Please check again for updates.
