Celebratory cocktails, caffeine, multiple flights and lots of outfits.
Caitlin Clark has been running on fumes since the Indiana Fever selected her with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft on Monday, and she’s living her best life.
During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Clark explained that she barely slept since the draft — and traveled from New York to Los Angeles and then Indianapolis, where the interview took place on Wednesday.
“It’s been a whirlwind. … I feel like I’ve tried to do my best,” Clark said of the attention she’s received, including nationally televised interviews with “Good Morning American and “Today” and more. “I think that’s the biggest piece of advice [retired WNBA legend] Sue Bird gave me is, ‘Just take a breath, soak it in. You only get drafted one time, you only get these moments once, so you need to enjoy it. You can’t go back and do this ever again.’
“I haven’t slept much, which is maybe a good thing, maybe a bad thing — I don’t know. We’ve been having fun and enjoying every single second. I think the biggest thing is how quick of a turnaround it is. It’ll be a big adjustment, I think I’ll be moving here in a like a week.”
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After nearly breaking the internet with her white satin Prada outfit at the draft, Clark enjoyed cocktails at The Fleur Room — a glass-encased rooftop lounge on Moxy Chelsea’s 35th floor with 360-degree views of the Manhattan skyline — with her boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, and some of her former Iowa teammates.
The 22-year-old Iowa native was up bright and early the next day for a sit-down interview on “Good Morning America” in Times Square — where she was seen leaving the studio in a casual Nike outfit.
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Clark was in Indianapolis for an introductory press conference with the Fever on Wednesday — back where she said her whirlwind weekend started with a red-eye flight straight to the set of “Saturday Night Live” for her surprise cameo on the show.
“I actually flew from L.A. to New York and I went right to the set and I woke up at 7 a.m. in L.A., and I went right to set and obviously the show doesn’t start until 11:30 [p.m.] so I was just chugging Coke all night trying to stay awake, coffee, soda,” Clark said. “But it was fun.”
Here’s everything to know about Caitlin Clark and her surprising WNBA salary
Caitlin Clark, college basketball’s all-time leading scorer and new face of the organization unsurprisingly went No. 1 in the WNBA draft to the Indiana Fever.
She hasn’t even played a game yet, but Clark has already become one of the biggest names in the WNBA.
Her first-round pick helped to drive a 304% increase in viewership for the WNBA draft this week. But the conversation around Clark certainly didn’t stop after she signed for 4-year deal with the Indiana Fever.
Clark will earn $338,056 over four years, per the league’s collective bargaining agreement, with the Indiana Fever.
In comparison, the top pick in the 2023 NBA draft, Victor Wembanyama, landed a $55 million deal.
Television personality Hoda Kotb was noticeably distraught about the pay gap during the “Today” show Tuesday.
“For somebody who is now the face of women’s basketball, it seemed kind of ridiculous,” Kotb said.
Kotb called it “disturbing” and brought it up multiple times throughout the morning.
Former ESPN journalist and current contributor to The Atlantic Jemele Hill was displeased with the discourse surrounding WNBA salaries and posted a lengthy X post on the subject.
“I’m already annoyed by this conversation because for years, WNBA players have fought for more money. And when they were outspoken, so many of y’all told them to shut up or reminded them how they had no value The NBA has had 50+ years of investment, media coverage, etc. After 27 years, the WNBA will not be the current NBA. So stop comparing them,” Hill wrote on social media.
“Weaponizing this information against WNBA players is another form of misogyny. These women have been dreaming of playing professionally in front of American audiences their whole lives,” Hill continued. “Instead of clowning and reminding them of what they’re not — buy the merchandise, go to the games, and watch the games on television.
Clark also told McAfee that she’s heading back to her native Iowa before she moves to Indiana next week.
As for how her game will translate to the WNBA?
“I think my passing translates,” she said. “People always want to talk about logo 3s, the scoring, whatever, but with the talent I have around me, just feed them the ball”
Clark emphasized that she can’t wait to show off her passing prowess with teammate Aliyah Boston, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft.
“She has great hands and lucky enough she’s been my teammate before [on Team USA] so I know firsthand how good she is. That’s going to make my job easier I think, just the way people can score the ball at this level. I love to get out and play fast so I know that won’t change much. The shot clock is even lower at the pro level, not that we used it much at Iowa.”
The WNBA will open training camps on April 28, and the season starts May 14.
The Fever open the season at Connecticut.
