Caitlin Clark's WNBA Home Debut with Fever Moved Up After Pacers' NBA Playoffs Win
May 3, 2024
Top WNBA draft pick Caitlin Clark will make her Indiana Fever preseason home debut on May 9, according to the team.
The contest against the Atlanta Dream, which is the only home game of the Fever's 2024 preseason, was originally scheduled for Friday, May 10.
The preseason schedule changed to accommodate Game 3 of the NBA's Eastern Conference semifinals series between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks, according to the Associated Press.
Tickets purchased for the original Friday game will remain valid for Thursday's contest, the Fever said.
Clark was not listed on the Fever's Thursday status report, so she is expected to make her WNBA debut Friday when Indiana begins the preseason in Arlington, Texas against the Dallas Wings.
The first game of the Fever's regular season is scheduled for May 14 on the road against the Connecticut Sun, while Clark's regular-season home debut will take place against the New York Liberty on May 16.
Clark is arriving in the NBA after setting the all-time NCAA scoring record for any college basketball player with 3,685 career points.
She finished out her Iowa career by leading the Hawkeyes to the 2024 NCAA women's basketball title game.
Now Indiana will hope Clark can give them a similar boost in playoff contention. The Fever have not made a postseason appearance since 2016.
Clark's star power, which sold out college arenas across the NCAA as fans paid inflated prices for a chance to see her make history, has already translated to the WNBA.
Stubhub announced Tuesday that WNBA ticket sales have increased 93 percent from last season.
It's fair to assume that some of the spike in interest is connected to Clark. Fever opponents including the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics will move to larger arenas in order to play the Fever in anticipation of bigger crowds coming out to watch her play, per the AP.
The Fever will also see 36 of their 40 regular-season games nationally broadcast this season, including the first four games of the regular season.
Until then, both of Indiana's preseason games will be available on the WNBA app.