WNBA feeling ‘Caitlin Clark effect’ as season tips off

NEW YORK – A new era for women’s basketball gets under way on May 14, when Caitlin Clark makes her full professional debut for the Indiana Fever as the new Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) season tips off.

After a college career which rewrote the record books and shattered attendance and television viewing records, the 22-year-old No. 1 draft pick will line up for Indiana’s season-opening road game against the Connecticut Sun.

Anticipation for her regular season debut has already started to mirror the excitement which accompanied her collegiate career, when sell-out crowds flocked to Iowa Hawkeyes games to catch a glimpse of a generational talent.

Fever’s game at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut has sold out, with courtside seats being offered for sale on secondary markets for as much as US$4,262 (S$5,780) each.

“This is one of the biggest games in WNBA history. Our arena is sold out, it’s our most popular game, even more popular than when we played in the finals,” said Jeff Hamilton, general manager of the Mohegan Sun resort complex.

Evidence of the Clark phenomenon has already been seen in pre-season.

More than 13,000 fans packed the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to watch her first Fever home game on May 9, eclipsing the previous record attendance for a pre-season game of just over 9,000, set 24 years ago.

“This is a pre-season game on a Thursday night and there are 13,000 people,” she said after contributing 12 points in an 83-80 victory over the Atlanta Dream.

“That just shows you what it’s going to be like for us all season. It’s going to help us,” added Clark, who also scored 21 points in her other pre-season appearance against Dallas Wings on May 3.

The May 14 game will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN, with the US sports network pledging in a press statement to “utilise a WNBA Finals-level production set-up” for the game.

Clark is relishing the chance to shine under the national spotlight as fans tune in to see whether the scoring touch that saw her break Pete Maravich’s 54-year-old all-time college basketball points record will translate to the more demanding professional game.

“Pre-season games – you’re trying to be as competitive as possible but you’re still trying to figure it out, try different line-ups. So getting out there for the first time is really exciting and it will be super special,” the 1.83m guard said.

“This is what you’ve worked for and dreamed of. Now you get to put your jersey on for the first real time and go out there and play. We get to play on the biggest stage, there’s gonna be a lot of people there, it’s gonna be loud.

“But you only play your first WNBA game once. I just want to enjoy it. It’s gonna be competitive.”

Tuesday’s sell-out is a far cry from her college debut. Asked what she remembered about her first game for Iowa, she replied: “No one was there.”

While Indiana stand to gain the most commercial benefits from Clark’s arrival, teams across the league will enjoy a financial boost, with some switching home games involving Indiana to bigger arenas to ensure more lucrative box office returns.

“I think the anticipation and all the enthusiasm going into the season has really been great for the women’s game and is long overdue,” Connecticut general manager Darius Taylor said. AFP