NEW YORK — Caitlin Clark is used to dropping 30 pieces and breaking scoring records. Her own point total isn’t what makes her excited about officially joining the Indiana Fever as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
They’re the ones that come from Aliyah Boston, the Fever’s 2023 No. 1 overall pick who Clark called “one of the best post players in the world.”
“My point guard eyes just light up,” Clark said Monday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
The general consensus among analysts, league evaluators and Clark himself is that the passing prowess of the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer will quickly translate to the professional level. Boston, an analyst covering Iowa for the Big Ten Network this season, told a group of reporters the same hours before the draft.
“Everyone talks about her shots and it’s clear not everyone can shoot from the logo,” the league’s reigning Rookie of the Year said. “But I think for me [it’s] her ability to run the floor… but also to be able to make passes to teammates [and] to find an open player.”
It’s welcome news for the Fever after they ranked 11th out of 12 teams in assists per game last season despite Boston dominating the paint and Kelsey Mitchell, one of the NCAA’s top scorers, lighting up the scoreboard. Clark is ready to make sure she can raise the level for Indiana, a team on the cusp of regular title contention.
“As a point guard, my biggest job is to get Aliyah the ball every day,” Clark said. “That’s what I’m going to do. I’ll be there saying, ‘Go make a layup.’ She is going to make my life easy.”
Many people’s lives are about to get easier. Fever players at home in a packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse jumped for joy when the pick became official. Guard Erica Wheeler, who watched the Final Four court last week, put on Clark’s new No. 22 jersey on Monday and showed it to the crowd.
With her signature “Come on now,” Clark first told Boston when asked who she is most looking forward to playing with or against this season. She then contacted Wheeler, a veterinarian she said she could turn to for advice.
“I’m 22 years old and I don’t have all the answers in the world,” Clark said. “This is something new for me. This is a new challenge.”
Indiana is on an upward trajectory, chasing its first postseason berth since 2016, when Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings was on the floor. Clark said she remembered Catchings during the broadcast of one of her freshman games and “adjusted” to a star she idolized.
Even before the Fever won the draft lottery, general manager Lin Dunn said she would be disappointed if the franchise did not make its return to the postseason in 2024. Now Indiana enters its most pivotal one-year stretch with its first No. 1 picks in franchise history.
“That’s definitely our goal, to get back to championship habits,” Clark said.
College basketball’s brightest star is officially headed to basketball state in Indiana. The franchise is entering the third year of Dunn’s rebuilding plan, which includes increased investments in practice facilities, organizational staffing and marketing support.
“She’s already made an impact and we hadn’t even drafted her yet,” Dunn said told reporters at Monday’s draft about Clark. “So let’s see what’s going to happen now that we’ve summoned her. She’s coming to Indianapolis, she’ll be an integral part of the Indiana Fever, and I can’t wait to see Boston and Mitchell and Clark, wow. And [NaLyssa] Smith. All.”
Ticket prices for the Fever have increased by 190% since last season, according to data from Vivid Seats earlier this week. The average retail price is $174, up from $60 in 2023. Opposing teams prepare to visit Indiana and Clark.
The Las Vegas Aces moved their game against Indiana to the larger T-Mobile Arena to reap the benefits. The two games in New York Liberty, one game in Chicago and one in Los Angeles are the four hottest WNBA tickets of 2024.
“Everyone is cheering for us. Everyone always supports us,” Boston said. “It just makes it so much better because you know you have a city behind you, a state behind you, and a lot of fans that just want to travel and see you play.”
It will mark a sharp change in the loyalties of the people of Indiana. Clark spent four years terrorizing the Hoosiers in the Big Ten, joking that they probably “didn’t love me that much during my career.”
She hopes the team will turn them into Fever fans, if they aren’t already.
“I can’t imagine a more perfect fit, a better place for me to start my professional career,” Clark said. “An organization that actually just believes in women’s basketball and wants to do everything the right way. So I couldn’t be happier to get there.”
Neither do her newest teammates.
