It was on April 15, 2024 when the Indiana Fever made it official, selecting Caitlin Clark No. 1 overall. It was an easy decision by the franchise, but one it had to wait several months to finally make at the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Since that night, when more than 6,000 fans showed up to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to see what we already knew was going to happen, Clark had to wait a long time to have a playoff moment of her own in that building.
Now 897 days since Clark became a member of the Fever, a transaction that significantly changed the landscape of the franchise and WNBA, Clark finally got a home playoff game.
She delivered a brilliant performance at the right time.
First for those in the locker room, then for everyone else.
The Fever won the tip in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Las Vegas Aces and Aliyah Boston found Clark for her first of five 3-pointers.
“Steph (White) told everybody I was gonna make it so I was just trying not to let everybody down because we were all visualizing that I was gonna make it,” Clark told reporters postgame. “So I needed to get the night started off right.”
Less than 48 hours after nothing went right for the team in Game 1, Clark set the tone for the night. Not just with that triple to get things going, but with the right disposition.
She’s the most competitive player I’ve ever covered. She always wants to win.
So Game 1 did not sit right with her — or anyone.
Clark leaned into the fiery passion we’ve seen for years, igniting her teammates and the more than 16,000 fans in red Fever t-shirts. On this night, she was all about basketball. And all about decisions that would put them in a position to win.
So the Fever switched from red to navy uniforms. Clark did not do her usual pregame press conference with reporters 90 minutes before tip. She broke out a purple pair of her Caitlin 1s rather than debuting a new pair, like she did on Tuesday.
Then, she played so hard that she threw up at halftime after setting another WNBA record, becoming the first player with a points/assists double-double after 20 minutes with 14 points and 11 assists.
“I was just really tired and then sometimes I drink too much water,” she explained.
After another back-and-forth first quarter, the Aces pulled ahead by 11 on a 3-pointer from Chelsea Gray. And 63 seconds later, after Clark was whistled for an offensive foul, she earned a technical foul.
As Frank Vogel taught me more than a decade ago, sometimes you have to change the game. That’s precisely what Clark, who is only 24 years old, did.
