Caitlin Clark was drafted into the WNBA on April 15. She has already had a transformative impact on the Indiana Fever organization that has completely changed the lives of her veteran teammates.
It is remarkable what one player can do!
Clark, the greatest scorer in college basketball history, sold out almost every game during her senior year at Iowa. Hawkeyes fans did not leave a seat empty throughout the entire season and road crowds were always very close to or at capacity. The Big Ten Tournament was a sellout. As were the deeper rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
The 22-year-old’s impact on women’s college basketball cannot be understated and stretched across the globe. Clark’s impact on the WNBA will be similar. Rather, it is similar!
NaLyssa Smith was drafted No. 2 overall by the Fever in 2022 after winning a national title at Baylor. She made just under 60 starts with the organization over the last two years and will be in the starting five alongside Clark and reigning Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston over the next few months.
This season is going to look very different. Both in terms of the actual on-court play and the atmosphere.
Smith addressed the change during her press conference at training camp
We used to play in a barn with six fans. Now we’re going to be playing in sold-out arenas.
— NaLyssa Smith
Indiana used to play at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, which is a state-fairgrounds arena that opened in 1939 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration in The New Deal. Although it was renovated in 2014, the arena is not on par with Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
no cappp 😂😂😂 smelt like straight cow shi during warm ups
— @NaLyssaSmith on X
The Fever will play all of their home games at Gainbridge during the 2024 season. Many of their opponents have already moved their game against Clark and co. to a bigger arena in anticipation of the crowds.
Smith and Boston deserve credit for their role in the growth. The WNBA as a whole is on the raise.
However, that is mostly a testament to the Caitlin Clark effect!
She has already changed the landscape of the sport and has yet to even play in the preseason. That’s next-level stardom— which is why a full-time bodyguard followers her around in public.
Smith’s full comments on Clark and the Fever (both on and off of the court) can be found here: