INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN) — A new era of women’s basketball in Indianapolis is officially underway.
After weeks of anticipation, the Indiana Fever selected former Iowa standout Caitlin Clark with the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft on Monday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.
The Fever’s path to getting Clark first began to be paved in December. Indiana won the WNBA Draft lottery, earning the No. 1 overall pick for the second year in a row.
The Fever selected South Carolina forward and former Naismith Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year Aliyah Boston with last year’s No. 1 overall pick. Boston went on to be named WNBA Rookie of the Year after her first season with the Fever.
Indiana had the best odds of any team to get this year’s No. 1 overall pick, though they did not have the worst record in the WNBA last season. The Fever had the 10th-worst record in the 12-team WNBA in 2023 — 13-27.
In the WNBA, a team’s lottery odds are determined by their record over the two previous seasons. The Fever had the worst record in the league in 2022 — 5-31.
Clark declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft in February, forgoing a fifth and final year of collegiate eligibility at Iowa. WNBA rules dictate players must compete at the college level for four years before turning pro.
Clark, a graduate of Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, played 139 games for the Hawkeyes, steadily increasing her numbers each season. In her final campaign at Iowa, she averaged 31.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game across 39 contests.
Clark burst onto the scene in college. As a freshman, she racked up 26.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game.
During her career, Clark led Iowa to the NCAA Tournament four times. The Hawkeyes advanced to the national championship game on two occasions.
Clark also became the all-time leading scorer in the history of college basketball at any level, men’s or women’s, while she was at Iowa. She finished her collegiate career with 3,951 points, averaging nearly 1,000 points a season.
