Caitlin Clark admitted she was a bit nervous earlier than being chosen with the No. 1 choose within the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, despite the fact that it was no shock.
“I dreamt of this second since I used to be in second grade, and it is taken numerous exhausting work, numerous ups and downs, however greater than something, simply making an attempt to soak it in,” Clark stated.
The previous Iowa star grew to become a family identify amongst basketball followers throughout her record-breaking faculty profession, and she is going to now try to assist revive the Indiana franchise together with final season’s No. 1 choose, Aliyah Boston.
“The group has top-of-the-line submit gamers in your complete world. My level guard eyes gentle up with that,” she stated.
WATCH | Clark chosen 1st total by Fever:
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark is chosen by the Indiana Fever as the primary choose within the 2024 WNBA Draft.
The Fever taking Clark had been a foregone conclusion since she introduced on Feb. 29 she would flip professional. Practically 17,000 tickets had been claimed to observe the draft at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, residence to the Fever and the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.
Clark has helped deliver hundreds of thousands of followers to the ladies’s sport along with her signature photographs from the midcourt brand and passing potential. The NCAA’s all-time scoring chief was an enormous motive why a document 18.9 million viewers tuned in to the nationwide championship sport, which Iowa misplaced to unbeaten South Carolina. The Hawkeyes had been additionally the nationwide runners-up to LSU a yr earlier.
Clark, who wore a white Prada jacket and skirt, hugged her mother and father and brothers and Iowa coach Lisa Bluder after she was drafted.
With the first choose within the 2024 <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WNBADraft?src=hash&ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>#WNBADraft</a> offered by <a href=”https://twitter.com/StateFarm?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@StateFarm</a>, the <a href=”https://twitter.com/IndianaFever?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@IndianaFever</a> choose <a href=”https://twitter.com/CaitlinClark22?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@CaitlinClark22</a> of <a href=”https://twitter.com/IowaWBB?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@IowaWBB</a> ✨✨ <a href=”https://t.co/BU0ewrtwsP”>pic.twitter.com/BU0ewrtwsP</a>
—@WNBA
The draft was held on the Brooklyn Academy of Music in entrance of 1,000 followers, who purchased all of the tickets inside quarter-hour of them happening sale a number of months in the past.
Aaliyah Edwards of Kingston, Ont., was picked sixth total by the Washington Mystics.
The six-foot-three ahead broke out in her junior season, averaging 16.6 factors and 9 rebounds per sport and being a staple of the crew’s success because the Huskies handled accidents. She earned AP third-team all-America honours, whereas additionally being named all-Huge East first crew, Huge East most improved participant and Huge East Match most excellent participant in 2022-23.
Los Angeles selected Stanford’s Cameron Brink at No. 2. She’ll get to remain in California and can give the Sparks a two-way participant.
“After they known as my identify, an enormous wave of feelings hit me,” Brink stated. “I noticed my mother tearing up and my dad and it hit residence.”
A prolific scorer, Brink was additionally the Naismith Defensive Participant of the 12 months. The Sparks wanted to interchange franchise participant Nneka Ogwumike, who left for Seattle in free company. Brink’s godmother, Sonya Curry, is the mom of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.
Chicago had the third choose and selected South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso earlier than the Sparks had been on the clock once more and chosen Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson.
Cardoso had a busy week, serving to the Gamecocks win the nationwide championship to finish an undefeated season. She took half within the crew’s championship parade on Sunday earlier than travelling to New York.
Dallas took Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon with the fifth choose. Chicago took LSU’s Angel Reese at No. 7, pairing her with Cardoso.
“She’s an ideal participant and I am an ideal participant. No one’s going to get no rebounds on us,” the 6-foot-7 Cardoso stated, laughing.
Minnesota, which had swapped picks with Chicago, drafted Alissa Pili of Utah eighth.
WATCH | Cardoso, South Carolina beat Clark, Iowa in nationwide championship:
Girls’s faculty basketball reached new reputation this March Insanity. File-smashing star Caitlin Clark dominated headlines — whilst her Iowa squad misplaced to undefeated South Carolina within the nationwide championship sport — and the game made hundreds of thousands of recent followers.
Newest on enlargement
In the meantime, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert stated she hopes to have 16 groups within the league by 2028, up from the present 12. The WNBA is including a crew subsequent yr, when a Golden State franchise in San Francisco will be part of the league.
Different cities or metropolitan areas that Engelbert stated are within the operating embrace Philadelphia; Toronto; Portland, Ore.; Denver; Nashville; and South Florida.
CBC Sports activities’ Shireen Ahmed reported in March that MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum is searching for a WNBA enlargement crew via a person holding firm, with an announcement doable as quickly as Could.
Engelbert stated she obtained calls final week from two different cities the league hadn’t been speaking to.
Golden State will get an opportunity to constructed its roster via an enlargement draft.
“It should occur earlier than the faculty draft and we’ll share extra particulars once we get nearer to that,” Engelbert stated. “Speaking to normal managers and coaches and groups and homeowners, there shall be an enlargement draft this yr and it’ll most likely be in December.”
Engelbert additionally stated the league will as soon as once more pay for constitution flights for your complete playoffs in addition to for back-to-back video games throughout the upcoming season that require air journey.
