Caitlin Clark is one of the most popular athletes alive and is only going to get bigger as she begins her professional basketball career in the WNBA on Monday, starting with the draft.
Clark set records across NCAA Division 1 basketball during the 2023-24 season, her last with Iowa. Her games were filled with electric 3-pointers, some from near mid-court, and they were accompanied by screaming fans trying to be witnesses to greatness, the likes of which women’s basketball may have never seen.
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark signs autographs during an Iowa women’s basketball team celebration on Wednesday, April 10, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
The former Hawkeyes star has been seen before or after games interacting with fans and signing autographs. She stressed the importance of doing that in an interview on NBC’s “Today.”
“The people I idolized in my life were either professional women’s basketball players, professional soccer players, and that’s what I wanted to be growing up,” Clark said. “And I think understanding how big of an impact that can have on a young girl’s life is super important.
Caitlin Clark, #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes, signs autographs for fans after a win against the Colorado Buffaloes during the Sweet Sixteen round of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament held at MVP Arena on March 30, 2024 in Albany, New York. (Greg Fiume/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
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“I always try to make as much time as I can for them. And just to see them scream your name or have your jersey on — that’s something that never gets old.”
The Indiana Fever were expected to take Clark with the No. 1 pick in the draft. Clark set the all-time NCAA Division 1 basketball scoring record this year. Iowa fell short in the national championship to Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks.
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark signs autographs during an Iowa women’s basketball team celebration on Wednesday, April 10, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
If Clark goes No. 1, she will be teamed up with last season’s WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston.
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