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WNBA star Caitlin Clark didn’t play, but her visit to Baltimore on Wednesday created a buzz.
Clark, the popular women’s basketball player, signed autographs for fans ahead of the first-ever WNBA basketball game in Charm City.
The Indiana Fever, who drafted Clark No. 1 overall in the 2024 draft, played the Washington Mystics at CFG Bank Arena. While Clark was sidelined because of a quad injury, she made herself available to those who came to see her.
Clark is scheduled to return to Baltimore on Sept. 7 when the Fever once again play the Mystics. According to SeatGeek, the lowest ticket price for that game is $108.
Clark’s strong WNBA start
Clark is averaging 19 points, 9.3 assists, and 6.0 rebounds per game in her second season with the Fever.
In 2024, her rookie season, Clark was a WNBA All-Star, the Rookie of the Year, a WNBA First-Team performer, and was the league’s leader in assists.
Caitlin Clark effect
The Clark craze intensified during her pursuit of the all-time NCAA Division I scoring record for men’s and women’s basketball. She led the Iowa Hawkeyes to the NCAA women’s championship game in 2023, but lost to LSU and Baltimore native Angel Reese.
The three-time college basketball All-American scored 3,951 career points at Iowa, with 548 made 3-pointers.
Her impact on basketball has led to increased merchandise sales, media attention, sellouts, viewership, and more interest in women’s basketball.
Caitlin Clark vs. Baltimore’s Angel Reese
Clark has developed a sort of rivalry with fellow WNBA star Angel Reese, who grew up in Randallstown and played high school basketball at Baltimore’s St. Frances Academy.
As Clark’s fan base was growing, the vocal Reese and her LSU Tigers beat Iowa, 102-85, in the 2023 National Championship Game.
Reese caught the national attention when she gestured the “you can’t see me” hand signal, and pointed at her ring finger near Clark at the end of the championship game.
The two have since been paired as women’s basketball rivals.
Clark was selected first in the WNBA draft in 2024, while Reese was chosen seventh overall by the Chicago Sky.
On May 17, Reese got up and tried to confront Clark after a hard foul. Clark slapped Reese’s arm following a rebound. Clark was assessed a flagrant foul. Reese was given a technical foul.
Both agreed that it was a “basketball play.”
“Let’s not make it something that it’s not,” Clark said. “It was just a good play on the basketball. I’m not sure what the ref saw to upgrade it, and that’s up to their discretion. It’s a take foul to put them at the free-throw line. I’ve watched a lot of basketball in my life, that’s exactly what it was. I wasn’t trying to do anything malicious. That’s not the type of player I am.”
