- The No. 1 pick in last month’s WNBA Draft made her professional debut on Friday
- Clark started for the Fever in the preseason game and played 28 minutes
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Caitlin Clark made her WNBA debut Friday night with all eyes on the former Iowa star, scoring 21 points for the Indiana Fever against the Dallas Wings in a preseason game.
The No. 1 overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft couldn’t lead her team to victory, however, as Arike Ogunbowale’s three-pointer with three seconds left defeated the Fever 79-76.
Clark did have a chance for a desperation three-pointer as the buzzer sounded, but the ball fell just wide of the rim.
Clark’s first professional saw her get the start and play the third most minutes of any Fever player with 28.
Clark added three rebounds, two assists and two steals while shooting 5-for-13 from 3-point range in the game.
Caitlin Clark scored 21 points in her WNBA debut, falling in a preseason game against Dallas
Clark was the No. 1 overall pick in last month’s WNBA Draft after a stellar college career at Iowa
Clark was the Fever’s leading scorer and was the game’s co-leader in points with Wings star Jaelyn Brown, with them scoring 21 each.
Ogunbowale added 19 for the Wings, with her crossover, step-back 3-pointer sealing the victory for Dallas.
NaLyssa Smith also added 20 points for Indiana as Clark’s place as an integral player for the team from Day No. 1 appears to be cemented.
The attention for a WNBA preseason game was palpable, with Clark having a lot of attention focused on her in Arlington from the start.
The Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex had plenty of sports options on Friday night, with the Stars and Mavericks both playing in the crucial playoff Game 6s, and the World Series champion Rangers taking on the Royals.
The tarp was still being taken down from the top deck in Arlington in front of a sold out crowd.
Clark’s spotlight will only grow, as evidenced by a cameo on “Saturday Night Live” two days before the WNBA Draft and the Fever’s red carpet for her introductory press conference.
Still, some have doubted whether Clark’s game will transition well to the professional level, as she is no longer guaranteed to be the best player on the floor.
The expectations for Clark in the WNBA are huge after what she accomplished in college
In Clark’s first appearance in a preseason game, she scored 21 points in 28 minutes
Some of those doubters were basketball legends, like Diana Taurasi.
“Reality is coming,” she said on April 6, nine days before the WNBA Draft took place in Brooklyn. “Things have levels. That’s just life. We’ve all been through it.’
“You look superhuman playing against 18-year-olds, but you’re going to come play with grown women who have been playing basketball for a long time — I’m not saying that won’t translate.”
Taurasi added, “There’s going to be a transition period where you have to give yourself some grace as a rookie.”
After Clark’s fans criticized Taurasi’s comments, labeling them as “rude,” the former UConn star doubled down.
‘I don’t think I said anything that was factually incorrect. Like anything, greatness will translate. And she proves that on every level. I don’t see why it would be any different in the WNBA,” Taurasi told azcentral’s Jeff Metcalfe this week.
One person who hasn’t publicly doubted Clark is Sheryl Swoopes, who conducted Clark’s first WNBA interview after the game.
Swoopes was one of five WNBA legends Clark mentioned by name on “Saturday Night Live” as players who opened the door she is now walking through by joining the professional ranks.