WNBA’s Caitlin Clark Receives Standing Ovation at Pacers’ NBA Playoff Game

Caitlin Clark’s first appearance as a member of the Indiana Fever came to fruition Friday at Gainbridge Field House.

The No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft received a standing ovation as she played the role of revving up the crowd ahead of the Indiana Pacers first home playoff game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Clark joins the Fever after a sensational career at Iowa where she led the Hawkeyes to two consecutive national championship appearances. She will hope to carry that momentum into her WNBA career and help the Fever see the postseason for the first time since 2016.

Her production at Iowa gives Fever fans something to be excited about. She averaged 28.9 points, 8.2 assists and 7.1 rebounds in four seasons for the Hawkeyes, with career highlights including being named an All-American four times and winning AP Player of the Year two times.

She joins a Fever team that won just 13 games in 2022-23. The franchise only has eight winning seasons in its 25-season tenure in the league, although it did win the WNBA Championship in 2012.

Still, Clark will inject some new life into the franchise and can help it contend in the Eastern Conference.

She will make her regular season debut for the Fever May 14 when Indiana faces the Connecticut Sun. Her home debut will come two days later when the Fever host the New York Liberty.