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Alexa Philippou, ESPN
NEW YORK — Caitlin Clark is formally a professional.
Clark, the record-breaking face of girls’s faculty basketball, was chosen No. 1 general by the Indiana Fever within the 2024 WNBA draft Monday night time on the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
“I acquired slightly anxious there earlier than the decide,” Clark mentioned with fun throughout an interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe. “I dreamed of this second since I used to be in second grade, and it is taken a whole lot of arduous work, a whole lot of ups and downs, however greater than something, simply attempting to soak it in.”
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. The prolific scorer was additionally the Naismith Defensive Participant of the 12 months. The Sparks wanted to exchange 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.
“I FaceTimed Steph 5 minutes earlier than the present began and he mentioned have enjoyable with it,” Brink mentioned. “He can share a lot nice recommendation since he is been by this. Make stuff like this enjoyable as it may be confused.”
Brink is the third Stanford participant chosen within the high two of the WNBA draft, becoming a member of Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike. The one faculty with extra is UConn.
Chicago had the third decide, which the Sky used to pick out South Carolina‘s Kamilla Cardoso, the 2024 Ultimate 4 Most Excellent Participant. Cardoso had a busy week, serving to the Gamecocks win the nationwide championship to finish an undefeated season. She took half within the group’s championship parade on Sunday earlier than touring to New York.
The Sparks had been again on the clock at No. 4 and selected Tennessee‘s Rickea Jackson, who was one in all 5 SEC gamers to common no less than 20 factors and 5 rebounds in a number of seasons over the past 25 years. Jackson is one in all two Tennessee gamers with 30 factors and 10 rebounds in an NCAA event sport, the opposite being Candace Parker, who started her profession with the Sparks as nicely.
Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon went fifth to the Dallas Wings, and the Washington Mystics took UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards at No. 6. Edwards put up profession highs in each scoring (17.6 PPG) and rebounding (9.2 PPG) in 2023-24.
The Sky then traded as much as seventh to pick out LSU star Angel Reese, the Ultimate 4 Most Excellent Participant throughout LSU’s nationwide championship run in 2023. Reese had 61 double-doubles over the past two seasons, essentially the most in Division I and second most in LSU historical past, trailing solely Sylvia Fowles.
“I am excited to play with Kamilla — I have been enjoying in opposition to her since highschool,” mentioned Reese, who’s the very best decide LSU has had since Fowles in 2008 (second general).
Utah‘s Alissa Pili was drafted at No. 8 by the Minnesota Lynx. Pili averaged 21.1 factors over the previous two seasons, which ranked fourth in Division I behind solely Clark (29.7), Ta’Niya Latson (21.3) and McKenna Hofschild (21.3).
The Wings took Carla Leite of France with the ninth decide. Leïla Lacan, additionally from France, is headed to the Connecticut Sun at No. 10. The New York Liberty, who made the WNBA Finals final 12 months, chosen Marquesha Davis with the eleventh decide. Davis turns into simply the fourth Ole Miss participant to be chosen within the first spherical.
Clark, a 6-foot-0 guard and West Des Moines, Iowa, native enters the league on high of the world. A two-time nationwide participant of the 12 months, Clark ended her collegiate profession with 3,951 factors, essentially the most in males’s and girls’s Division I historical past, whereas propelling the Iowa Hawkeyes to back-to-back nationwide title sport appearances, their first in program historical past.
Her brand 3-pointers, highlight-reel assists and offensive firepower (she averaged 31.6 factors per sport as a senior, and 28.4 factors for her profession) have drawn sellout crowds in Iowa Metropolis and on the highway, whereas shattering television ratings throughout a mess of tv networks and streaming platforms alongside the best way.
She has her personal cereal field, State Farm commercials and simply this previous weekend appeared as herself on “Saturday Night Live.” Now, her largest problem, and largest alternative, awaits.
“I earned it, that is why I am so pleased with it,” Clark advised Rowe.
The Fever have not appeared within the playoffs since 2016, the legendary Tamika Catchings’ ultimate season. However with Clark becoming a member of forces with final 12 months’s No. 1 general decide in Aliyah Boston, the pairing of generational powers appears destined to change the trajectory of the franchise — and probably the league — for the years to come back.
Winners of the 2012 WNBA title, Indiana has languished since Catchings’ retirement, sporting the worst successful share within the league for the reason that begin of the 2017 season regardless of choosing lottery picks in every of the final seven drafts. 4 of these seven picks are now not with the group.
Indicators of progress emerged this previous season with Boston, the franchise’s first-ever No. 1 decide, in tow, as they received 13 video games, tied for essentially the most since Catchings’ retirement. With Clark now within the combine, it appears nicely inside attain for the franchise to snap what’s at present the league’s longest lively streak lacking the playoffs.
Clark, the one Division I girls’s participant with greater than 3,000 factors and 1,000 assists, may have two equally younger however elite submit targets in Boston, the reigning rookie of the 12 months, and NaLyssa Smith, a 2022 lottery decide. After Clark developed robust chemistry with Iowa posts Monika Czinano and Hannah Stuelke, the connections she, Boston and Smith can type in Indianapolis are tantalizing prospects for Fever followers.
“The group has top-of-the-line submit gamers in all the world. My level guard eyes mild up with that,” Clark mentioned.
Clark may even share the backcourt with two veteran guards in Kelsey Mitchell, No. 4 on the NCAA Division I all-time scoring checklist and a high 3-point shooter within the league final season, in addition to returning level guard Erica Wheeler.
ESPN Stats & Data and The Related Press contributed to this report.
