Tag: Indiana Fever

Tim McGraw rocks a Caitlin Clark jersey (again!) at recent concert

Add Tim McGraw to the list of Caitlin Clark mega fans.

Caitlin Clark has become a cultural phenomenon in women’s basketball.

After a record-setting career at Iowa, Clark — one of the most highly anticipated WNBA draft picks of all time — was selected first overall by the Indiana Fever on Monday night.

Clark brought a lot of attention to the college game, helping lead to attendance records for both Iowa and its opponents as well as viewership records during the recent NCAA tournament.

It seems she’s also grown a celebrity fanbase. At a concert in Iowa last month, country music star Tim McGraw rocked Clark’s Hawkeyes jersey. He did so again while performing in Indianapolis on Thursday night, this time wearing Clark’s new Fever threads.

McGraw is clearly a big fan of Clark, who became the NCAA Division I all-time scoring leader this season. He’s not the only one, as Monday’s draft with Clark as the headliner was the most watched of all time.

Clark is expected to do big things in the WNBA, and it’s obvious the hype train isn’t slowing down now that she’s left college.

Tickets to Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever debut more than double NBA playoff courtside seats

Caitlin Clark is one of the biggest draws on the planet right now. Her Fever debut tickets are more than double NBA playoff courtside seats.

If you build it, they will come. Or, in this case, if you draft her, they will buy tickets to every game. The Indiana Fever took Caitlin Clark at No. 1 in the WNBA draft and are already seeing her transcendent ability across all things.

At Iowa, Caitlin Clark took ticket prices to new heights. Every road game was a sellout, secondary markets saw tickets constantly over $400, and fans couldn’t get enough of her. The same thing is happening in the WNBA.

The Indiana Fever are seeing courtside seats for her debut going for nearly $2,500. In and of itself, that is an astronomical number. To put it into perspective, the Indiana Pacers are firmly in the NBA playoffs at this moment as a projected No. 6 seed with a 47-35 record. Those are selling at $1,220.

Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever debut is selling for more than double that of an NBA courtside seat at a playoff game. That is transcendent.

It doesn’t stop there, either. Clark is part of a surge in ticket prices across the WNBA and is leading the way paving this new path. Per Forbes, the Fever’s matchup with the Minnesota Lynx is seeing tickets go for $615.

Forbes has also discovered that the Indiana Fever are a player in each of the ten most expensive games this season. So, if you draft her, the fans are certain to come.

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Caitlin Clark is reportedly nearing a major deal with Nike that will include her own signature shoe

Caitlin Clark is reportedly joining forces with Nike for a major deal and new shoe.

If you’re a fan of new Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, you’re about to be able to wear her signature shoe when you play basketball.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Mike Vorkunov and Ben Pickman reported on Wednesday night that Clark is nearing an eight-figure endorsement deal with Nike that will include the sportswear giant making a Clark-inspired Nike shoe.

The trio reported that Under Armour and Adidas also offered Clark deals before she chose to sign with Nike and that Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry was part of Under Armour’s pitch to Clark.

However, Clark had an NIL deal with Nike in college and will now transition to a more formal arrangement with the company.

Clark was picked first overall on Monday night by the Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft after her stellar career at Iowa. She’ll begin her WNBA career against the Connecticut Sun on May 14 on the road.

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Caitlin Clark’s WNBA draft selection headlines largest WNBA TV audience since 2000

Just another TV viewership record for Caitlin Clark.

The Caitlin Clark effect was alive and well on draft night.

With Clark’s No. 1 overall selection to the Indiana Fever as the main draw, ESPN enjoyed record TV viewership numbers. Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports reports that the 2024 WNBA draft reeled in 2.45 million viewers on Monday night.

That figure more than quadrupled the audience of 572,000 viewers during the 2023 WNBA draft. Per Cydney Henderson of USA TODAY Sports, the audience peaked at 3.09 million viewers.

Per Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, it also represented the largest TV audience for a WNBA telecast of any kind dating back to the year 2000. The Memorial Day game between the New York Liberty and Houston Comets in 2000 on NBC drew 2.74 million viewers.

Over the following quarter century since that Liberty vs. Comets contest on Memorial Day in 2000, no other no WNBA telecasts, including playoff and Finals games, has cracked the one million viewer mark, according to SMW.

Those TV ratings indicate that the Clark craze is likely to continue. All of this bodes well for the WNBA’s broadcast partners such as ESPN, Amazon, Ion and NBA TV. It looks like they are about to cash in on spiked viewership once more with Clark.

For the WNBA, Clark’s arrival into the league comes at a critical and picture-perfect time, too.

The league’s current broadcasting rights expire after the 2025 season. Currently, the WNBA pulls in $60 million a year for its rights fees vs. $2.7 billion annually for the NBA.

Early on, Clark’s ability to move the needle for the WNBA is obvious and apparent.

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Caitlin Clark fans may have to wait more than half the season if they want to get her WNBA jersey

Fanatics said Caitlin Clark jerseys sold faster than any other athlete in company history.

The Indiana Fever selected Caitlin Clark with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft and will now have plenty of new fans.

It was not exactly a secret that Clark was headed to the Fever with the top selection. Not only did she get a very Indiana-specific NIL deal but local businesses and muralists started the push to bring her to the team long before she heard her name called on draft night.

Yet those who want to support the superstar by buying a jersey of her new team may have to wait a bit longer. While it is for sale via Fanatics, this is listed only as a pre-order.

In fairness, per Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, Clark that fastest-selling jersey on draft night of any athlete in company history.

Per the website:

“This is a special event item. Orders containing this product will be shipped separately. This item will be shipped no later than Wednesday, August 14, 2024.”

For what it is worth, the Fever will have played at least 26 of their 40 games by the date of that shipping estimate.

Of course, while there is a ton of excitement about Clark, it is disappointing for fans who want a jersey sooner rather than later.

It is also frustrating that folks who want to support other players on the Fever, like WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, do not even have an opportunity to buy her jersey on Fanatics.

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Caitlin Clark is reminding everyone she’s human before her WNBA debut with the Fever

“I’m not going to come out here and score 40 points a game. That’s not what I’m going to do.”

As the No. 1 pick in one of the most anticipated classes in WNBA history, Caitlin Clark has a lot riding on her shoulders. But, she says she will give herself grace and time to adjust her expectations for herself going into the league. Everyone else should remember that, too.

It feels like the entire country is talking about Caitlin Clark and the 2024 class after Monday’s historic draft. What kind of impact will they have? Will they face reality when they meet the league’s veterans? Will Caitlin Clark meet the moment as she’s expected to do?

If you ask Caitlin what’s been on her mind after being drafted, she might say giving herself grace in this new chapter of her life. Per James Boyd of The Athletic, Caitlin expressed to him that it’s a concept she learned to navigate in college and will take with her to the pros.

Here’s what she told Boyd and the media on Wednesday:

“Grace is a thing for everybody — that everybody could use in their life. Not everybody is perfect. People make mistakes…there’s going to be learning curves for me. I’m not going to come out here and score 40 points a game. That’s not what I’m going to do.

It’s learning from the amazing people I have around me and heaving a lot of fun, but also don’t lose who I am. That’s what’s gotten me to this point. [I will] continue to be myself, and I think a lot of good will come from that.”

ESPN, CBS grade out Caitlin Clark as ‘A+’ draft for Indiana Fever

In what was no shock to anyone, the Indiana Fever drafted Caitlin Clark No. 1 overall. ESPN and CBS grade the pick as an ‘A+’ on the night.

Caitlin Clark was always going to be the No. 1 overall draft pick in this year’s WNBA Draft. It was only a matter of time until she heard her name called and changed the entire face of a franchise.

That all happened when the Indiana Fever selected Clark with the first pick in the draft. She took the stage, posed for the photos with the commissioner, and is now on her way to WNBA stardom.

Drafting Caitlin Clark was a no-brainer. Not only was it an easy choice for what she can do on the court but for the eyes and the fandom she will have following her. All of these reasons are why ESPN and CBS Sports have both graded this pick and Fever draft as an A+.

Indiana Fever: A-plus

No franchise needed the excitement Clark brings more than Indiana, which hasn’t made the WNBA playoffs since 2016. Both Sides and general manager Lin Dunn said they are eager for Clark to meet all her teammates and have her personality impact the team and the community. They also said she is more than ready for what’s ahead of her on the court.

“I hoping she’s going to go home and get some rest for a little while. She’s just been on the go,” Sides said. “But I can’t wait to get her in the locker room with our players. They can get to know her, know she’s a fierce competitor. These guys see all the articles written and things on social media. They don’t know her yet. I’m ready for that day.” – Michael Voepel, ESPN

Caitlin Clark is going to instantly lift the Fever into a new stratosphere as a franchise. Their fanbase has grown exponentially, ticket sales are up, and that all leads to one less discussed item. That turns the Fever into a desirable place for free agents to play as well. Indiana will open Caitlin Clark with open arms and she will change this franchise.

No surprise here. Clark has been projected as the No. 1 pick for months, and the Fever made it official on Monday night. The two-time Naismith Player of the Year and all-time leading scorer in Division I history, men or women, Clark is one of the best offensive prospects to ever enter the league. Her 3-point range and off-the-dribble shooting are unlike anything the WNBA has seen, and she’s a dynamite playmaker. Off the court, she is a marketing dream and will raise the profile of the Fever and the league as a whole.

Caitlin Clark has been the main event in every arena that she has stepped in over the last few years. That won’t change in Indiana or road games in the WNBA. She is going to be the main draw.

She has the talent to make an instant impact with her shooting ability and her court vision to make high-level passes to teammates for easy buckets. It is now just a matter of time until she takes the court, but there is no debate that the Fever’s pick is a clear A+.

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Caitlin Clark’s boyfriend Connor McCaffery had a perfect 3-emoji reaction to her WNBA Draft night outfit

Caitlin Clark’s boyfriend was wowed by what she wore to the WNBA Draft.

Connor McCaffery looks like he enjoyed what his girlfriend — the newest Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark — wore on Monday when she was selected No. 1 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

What’s more is that he looked like he had a fun night with her afterwards, according to her Instagram.

McCaffery — who works for the Indiana Pacers, which is convenient for him and Clark! — was tagged on X (formerly Twitter) with a fan saying they wanted to see his reaction to what the guard wore.

His response? Three emojis implying that he was wowed by it. Check out his post and Clark’s Instagram Story with the two of them:

Caitlin Clark selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA Draft

What has long been anticipated is now official. Caitlin Clark has been selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA Draft.

It is official. Caitlin Clark can cross off another lofty goal on her list that has already seen many accomplished.

Caitlin Clark has been selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA Draft. The Iowa Hawkeyes’ superstar guard, Wooden Winner, and living legend is now taking her talents to the WNBA.

Caitlin Clark will be joining forces with Aliyah Boston, the Fever’s other headliner and fellow No. 1 overall pick. The young duo instantly becomes one of the league’s most dynamic and exciting pairs early in their career.

The Indiana Fever have long been tied to Caitlin Clark and have already began catering to her arrival with primetime television coverage, sellouts, and seeing other teams moving games to larger arenas to handle the ticket rush.

The arrival of Caitlin Clark will provide a rejuvenation to the WNBA as a whole along with the Indiana Fever who were 13-27 last year and finished sixth in the WNBA Eastern Conference.

Things go from the draft to season preparations rather quickly for Clark and the rest of the Indiana Fever. Training camp begins in less than two weeks on Sunday, April 28.

Clark’s WNBA career will begin with a season-opener on the road against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday, May 14th. Her first home game of her rookie season is just two days later on Thursday, May 16th when the Fever host the New York Liberty.

The long-awaited arrival of Caitlin Clark to the WNBA is officially here and a new era of women’s basketball is underway. Caitlin Clark being selected No. 1 overall is just the first page in what appears will be a lengthy and intriguing next chapter.

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Caitlin Clark Indiana Fever Jersey, Get Your Fever Gear Today

The Indiana Fever struck gold tonight, selecting superstar Caitlin Clark as the number one overall pick in the WNBA Draft! Get your gear now.

The Indiana Fever struck gold tonight, selecting superstar Iowa guard Caitlin Clark as the number one overall pick in the WNBA Draft! Caitlin Clark, the NCAA’s reigning Naismith Player of the Year and NCAA all-time leading scorer is poised to take the WNBA by storm. The Fever faithful can’t wait to see her light up the court in an Indiana Fever jersey.

Fanatics has you covered with a wide selection of official Indiana Fever merchandise, including:

  • Caitlin Clark Jerseys: Replicate the look of your new WNBA star by grabbing a brand new Caitlin Clark Indiana Fever jersey.

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  • Fever Fan Gear: Show your Indiana Fever pride with a variety of t-shirts, hoodies, hats, and more.

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  • WNBA Apparel: Celebrate the entire league with official WNBA merchandise, perfect for any basketball fan.

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Fanatics is your ultimate destination for all things WNBA. With a vast selection of officially licensed merchandise, you’ll find everything you need to cheer on your favorite team and players.

Head over to Fanatics today and snag your Caitlin Clark jersey or other Indiana Fever gear to celebrate the arrival of a new era in Indiana WNBA basketball!

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