The Indiana Fever fell to the Connecticut Sun 87-81 at Mohegan Sun Arena on Wed, Sept. 25 in the WNBA playoffs, marking the end of their season and Caitlin Clark’s rookie campaign. Despite Clark’s efforts to avoid early elimination by scoring 25 points with nine rebounds with six assists, it wasn’t enough to keep the Fever alive.
Regardless of the disappointing end to the season, Clark’s first season in the WNBA was nothing short of historic. The 22-year-old set countless records, including the WNBA record for most assists in a single season with 337 and the highest number of points ever by a rookie player with 769.
Outside of the records, Clark finished fourth in the league’s MVP record with 130 points, receiving six third-place votes, 26 fourth-place votes and 22 fifth place votes. Ultimately, A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces took the MVP crown, but for Clark to even be considered in that conversation in her first season in the league is a huge accomplishment. Additionally, Clark unanimously won the WNBA Rookie of the Year award and was named to the All-WNBA First Team and All-Rookie Team.
“I feel like I had a solid year,” said Clark following the game against the Sun per ESPN. “But for me, the fun part is I feel like I’m just scratching the surface. I’m one that’s nit-picking every single thing I do. And I know I want to help this franchise get even better, help my teammates get even better, be better for my teammates. I know there’s a lot of room for me to continue to improve, so that’s what excites me the most.”
ESPN’s Andraya Carter said shewas insanely impressed by Clark’s debut in the pros. “For me, it was a rookie masterclass,” Carter said on ESPN’s First Take, according to reports from Mirror US.
When Clark enters the game, the offense shifts gears, and every element of the game is elevated. Clark joined an organization that had not had a 20-win season since 2015. However, Clark stayed the course through all of the challenges she faced personally and with the Fever as a team. Indiana started the season with a 1-8 record, but they were able to turn it around with the lead of Clark’s talent.
Clark started in over 40 games for Indiana and averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. She was a must-watch player throughout the regular season and into the playoffs. Clark and the Fever were able to break the single-season record for average attendance with 17,036 and total attendance of 340,715. Numerous records with the ratings and merchandise sales were set this season for the Fever with Clark at the front of it all.
Even though she is not in college anymore, Clark is still making an impact in Iowa. On Wednesday, the Iowa Hawkeyes once again sold out their tickets for the women’s basketball 2024-25 season. Clark will not be playing for Iowa this season, but the interest and demand of women’s basketball is still on an all-time high in Iowa City, thanks to her.
Clark amplified the game of basketball and has brought an immeasurable amount of attention to women’s sports as a whole. This rookie class was the most anticipated WNBA draft class in the league’s history with star players like Clark, Cameron Brink and Angel Reese, who all made their mark in the 2024 season. Even though the season has come to an end for most of the rookies, this is just the first glimpse of “The Clark Effect” with the Indiana Fever.