Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft and Division I scoring leader, revved up a raucous Indiana Pacers crowd heading into Game 3 against the Bucks" rel="tag">Milwaukee Bucks.
INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark broke into the playoffs of the NBA on Friday night and received a standing ovation from his new home fans.
And he hopes to do it again in September in the same place.
The No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft and Division I scoring leader revved up a raucous I crowd.Indiana Pacers stepping on the accelerator of an IndyCar replica before the Game 3 against the Milwaukee Bucks.
It was the first public appearance of Caitlin Clark on the Gainbridge Fieldhouse field since the Indiana Fever They recruited her last week. Naturally, the nearly 17,000 fans gave a loud round of applause to the city’s newest superstar.
Caitlin Clark didn’t speak, but when she joined her new Fever teammates midway through the second quarter to throw jerseys into the stands, senior guard Erica Wheeler did.
“Knockouts!” Wheeler told the team’s emcee when asked about this season’s goal. “We want to do this and we have the pieces. We want it to look like this every night.”
Indiana could make it look that way if it makes its first playoff appearance since 2016.
But Clark’s presence has already sparked a change. The Fever They are already one of the WNBA’s most popular tickets, as was the case during her collegiate career at Iowa, when sell-outs became the norm and television ratings reached record levels.
Ticket sales in Indiana have already skyrocketed before she has even played a professional game, and some teams, including the two-time defending champion of the WNBA The Las Vegas Aces have already moved home games to larger venues.
Clark arrived in Indianapolis on April 17 for an introductory press conference and then returned to Iowa with his family. He returned to town Friday night for the Pacers’ first home playoff game since April 21, 2019, and will stay until the start of training camp on Sunday.
