Caitlin Clark was selected first overall by the Indiana Fever, seventeen picks before her Iowa teammate, Kate Martin, was selected by the Las Vegas Aces. Their first practices with their new teams reflect a stark contrast in WNBA facilities.
As does Angel Reese’s introductory press conference with the Chicago Sky!
Clark arrived to Indianapolis for training camp earlier this week. She and Aaliyah Boston started to work together on Wednesday. Their ability to score off of the pick-and-roll is going to be downright impossible to stop.
Take note of the Fever facility, which looks like a classic midwest gym with red brick walls and high ceilings.
Now let’s compare that to Las Vegas.
Martin also pulled up to her new gym on Wednesday and it looks entirely different than the one in Indiana. The Aces’ facility is much bigger and features a very different aesthetic.
I am not trying to say that one facility is better than the other. I am simply pointing out the contrast!
However, it is safe to say that both Martin and Clark’s home gyms are much better than the one in Chicago. The Sky got absolutely roasted for its practice facility during Reese’s official introduction to the local media and rightfully so.
It looks like a rundown high school gym or something in a college rec center that is used for intramurals. Honestly, some high schools have better facilities than Chicago’s WNBA team. Reese had a far greater set up at LSU than she does with her professional organization.
Every WNBA team is different. The look of a gym does not win or lose championships. Talent does.
But with that being said, Las Vegas has won each of the last two WNBA titles so perhaps it does play a greater role than we might think! Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin and Angel Reese’s practice facilities are all very different.