‘Caitlin Effect’ rocking WNBA

NEW YORK (AFP) — A new era for women’s basketball gets under way when Caitlin Clark makes her full professional debut for the Indiana Fever as the new Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) season tips off.

After a college career which rewrote the record books and shattered attendance and television viewing records, No.1 draft pick Clark will line up for Indiana’s season-opening road game against the Connecticut Sun.

Anticipation for Clark’s regular season debut has already started to mirror the excitement which accompanied her collegiate career, when sell-out crowds flocked to Iowa Hawkeyes games to catch a glimpse of a generational talent.

Their game at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, has already sold out, with courtside seats being offered for sale on secondary markets for as much as $4,262 each.

“This is one of the biggest games in WNBA history,” said Jeff Hamilton, the general manager of the Mohegan Sun resort complex.

“Our arena is sold out, it’s our most popular game, even more popular than when we played in the finals.”

Evidence of the Clark phenomenon has already been seen in the pre-season.

More than 13,000 fans packed into the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis to watch her first home game for the Fever last Thursday, eclipsing the previous record attendance for a pre-season game of just over 9,000, set 24 years ago.

“This is a pre-season game on a Thursday night and there’s 13,000 people,” Clark said after contributing 12 points in an 83-80 victory over the Atlanta Dream.

“That just shows you what it’s going to be like for us all season. It’s going to help us,” added Clark, who also scored 21 points in her other pre-season appearance against Dallas on 3 May.

Tuesday’s game will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN, with the US sports network pledging in a press release last week to “utilize a WNBA Finals-level production setup” for the game.