Caitlin Clark hailed as savior in hero's welcome to Indianapolis

Caitlin Clark received a hero’s welcome to Gainbridge Coliseum on Wednesday (April 17) morning as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft stepped into her new home arena to flocks of fans and a packed opening press conference.

/”I’m super happy to be here. Thank you to the Fever, the Pacers. This is a dream come true,/” said Clark, a two-time National Player of the Year at Iowa and the all-time leading scorer in Division I basketball history.

Indianapolis literally painted the town to usher Clark into a stadium adorned with a 20-foot banner, billboards and video displays of her in an already sold-out No. 22 Fever jersey. More than 6,000 people attended a draft party on Monday (April 15) to celebrate her arrival.

Clark delivered an opening statement and paused mid-sentence to identify Tamika Catchings in an audience that included her parents.

/”I can’t think of a better place for myself to start my career. A place that loves basketball, supports women’s basketball, and an organization that really does things the right way, has championship pedigree,/” Clark said.

Indiana had a 13-27 record in 2023 to secure its second consecutive No. 1 pick in the draft. The Fever last had a winning season in 2015.

Clark follows 2023 No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston to Indianapolis and said staying in the Midwest — she’s about five hours from the Iowa campus — felt like a scripted end to her storied college career.

”Yeah, I think like you said, like there’s just so much talent on this roster and I’m very thankful. Obviously, Aliyah has been one of my teammates before with USA Basketball and I know first-hand how great she is. And obviously Erica Wheeler, somebody that’s been having my back and we’re not even really teammates yet. So, I’m super excited about that, a vet, somebody that’s been in the league for a really long time and obviously as a point guard, you need somebody to lean on and, you know, have your back and ask questions.”

Fever GM Lin Dunn called drafting Clark /”a powerful moment/” and thanked Clark’s parents and Iowa coach Lisa Bluder for their work with her, tipping her cap to the wildly popular Clark for helping forward the game of basketball.

/”At times it doesn’t feel real. I feel like I’m kind of stuck in a dream at times,/” said Clark, a 22-year-old self-described perfectionist. /”I think the biggest thing I try to remember is how grateful I am to have this opportunity. There’s so many people that would kill to be in my shoes. … I just try to remind myself of how grateful I am. I’m lucky to have these moments./”

(Production: Geraldine Downer)

Subscribe to the ABS-CBN News channel! – http://bit.ly/TheABSCBNNews

Watch full episodes on iWantTFC for FREE here:
http://iwanttfc.com

Visit our website at http://news.abs-cbn.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS
Twitter: https://twitter.com/abscbnnews
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abscbnnews