- She posed for photos in full Fever uniform with her teammates in downtown Indy
- The Fever will increase security to protect Clark throughout the season
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Caitlin Clark was left hanging as her Indiana Fever teammates teasingly forced her to wear some of their necklaces during a photo shoot ahead of the start of the new WNBA season.
On Wednesday, The Fever shared footage of Clark, 21, giggling on the streets of downtown Indianapolis while bonding with her professional basketball colleagues as she continues to settle into her new home since being drafted as the first overall player in April choice. 15.
“Erica Wheeler and NaLyssa Smith let Caitlin Clark borrow their necklaces for our late-night photoshoot,” The Fever shared on X.
In the clip, Clark wears two to three silver or gold chains with two pennants – No. 1 and No. 17 – before biting them. She wore the latter during her four seasons at Iowa.
In Indy, however, she will wear No. 22.
Caitlin Clark showed off her teammates’ chains during a Fever photo in downtown Indianapolis
Later, Clark and her teammates posed for a photo in front of the Soldiers & Sailors monument
Nevertheless, Clark posed with five of her teammates in front of the Soldiers and Sailors monument later in the evening, as seen in several images shared by the Fever.
“Squad rollin’ deep for our introductory video shoot in downtown Indy tonight,” the team’s X account captioned the post.
Meanwhile, ticket sales in Indiana and the rest of the league have soared ahead of the Fever kicking off their season on May 14 against the Connecticut Suns, as 36 of the team’s 40 regular season games are scheduled for national television .
What’s more is that the hustle and bustle in the city hasn’t been seen since Tamika Catchings retired after the 2016 season. Another big change: security.
Clark’s popularity, her clash with a fan during a court storm at Ohio State last season and last spring’s airport collision involving Brittney Griner have prompted Indiana to prioritize safety with the first big test on Friday during the preseason opener in Dallas.
“I’m sure everyone would say they would prefer to have charter flights all the time, and that would certainly help,” Clark said. “But I think the Fever organization has done a really good job of leading the way. There’s going to be a lot of security traveling with us, there’s going to be certain plans about how we’re going to navigate through airports. It’s not just for us, it’s for everyone in the WNBA. Everyone has to navigate it.”
Clark is expected to make her WNBA debut on May 14 with Indy against the Connecticut Sun
On the field, Clark has also changed things.
Coach Christie Sides has already figured out how Clark’s trademark 3-pointers will help Indiana’s logo space the floor, and her teammates have raved about Clark’s deft, crisp passing.
The combination has some outside the organization projecting a championship run. Within Gainbridge Fieldhouse, however, expectations are more well-founded.
‘Like it [GM] Lin [Dunn] said Sides: The idea of winning a championship right away, let’s be realistic. “When you talk to players they always think we can win today, we can win every day.
‘Our main goal is that we want to reach the play-offs. That is our main goal, but we have a plan in place and steps we don’t want to skip so we can achieve more sustainable success.’