In second grade Caitlin Clark wrote down her WNBA dreams and now they are becoming a reality. “Get a basketball scholarship, play in the WNBA,” Clark recalled the note saying. On Monday her dream became a reality. She was selected by Indiana Fever as the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft, launching her professional career in the sport she has set many records.
Clark knows that starting in the WNBA will be a challenge but she thinks it will be a good challenge for her. She still had one more year of eligibility left to play in college but she chose to do something new. She hopes to be able to take her game to the next level and she knows that she will have good vets around her that she will be able to lean on. She also said that she is looking forward to relying on her future teammates and not having to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders all the time. The high expectations aren’t going to change as Clark enters the pros, “that’s what you want” when you “want to be one of the best players in the world,” Clark said.
The long 3s she is known for, “Those are shots, like, I practice and work on every single day,” Clark said. “It’s not like I just take the court for a game and just start launching those.” She has worked very hard in her training to get to this point in her career. “But I think always I’ve had confidence in myself,” she said. “And so just carrying and that being confident in all the work I’ve put in the moments and knowing that I’ve earned to be in this moment, that’s always kind of what I remind myself, is, you know, ‘You’re not here by accident.’ Like, it’s all the hard work that you put in. And that’s what led you to this,” said Clark.
The hard work that she puts in might lead her to the Olympics this summer in Paris, where she could earn a spot on the U.S. women’s basketball team to represent her country on the international stage. Clark said it would mean everything to her to be on the team. “That’s, like, one of my dreams as a kid growing up. You always want to be an Olympic gold medalist,” she said.
Clark has been inspiring swarms of young girls. For Clark, understanding “how big of an impact that can have on a young girl’s life is super important. So I always try to make as much time as I can for them,” she said. “And just to see them scream your name or have your jersey on, that’s something that never gets old.”
Clark has heard rumors that season tickets for the Indiana Fever are selling fast and that other teams are moving their venues so more people can watch her play, but sees that as only another win for the WNBA and women’s basketball as a whole.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/caitlin-clark-wnba-dreams-draft-basketball-rcna147764