By Lindsay Burke
All eyes will be on the Indiana Fever for the upcoming 2024 season. With the much anticipated addition of generational phenom Caitlin Clark, much excitement surrounds this organization.
Clark and the Fever will play their home opener tonight at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. They will face fifth year veteran Sabrina Ionesccu and the New York Liberty at 7:00 p.m. ET. Fans can watch the game live on Amazon Prime Video.
Clark will win Rookie of the Year
Clark brings multiple records and NCAA honors with her to Indianapolis. One bold prediction comes based on Clark’s resume as she is an early favorite for the 2024 Rookie of the Year award.
There is something so eye-catching that puts spectators in awe when seeing her casual half court baskets, her hustle and grit. All eyes are on Clark, as her jerseys sold out in an hour after being drafted number one overall.
Adding Clark to an already talented Fever team brings high stakes as she teams up with last year’s number one overall pick, Aliyah Boston.
The Fever will make the Postseason
The attention didn’t just stop at Clark going number one overall. Let’s not forget the team did also add the 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Celeste Taylor out of Ohio State with the 15th overall selection. Taylor brings a strong passion for full court press and team leading number of steals from her final collegiate season to the Fever.
This prediction is significant to players, coaches and fans alike because if successful, it will be the first time the Fever have reached the postseason since 2017.
In order to have an understanding of the anticipation surrounding this upcoming season, this year’s WNBA draft drew in over 2 million viewers. In years past, the draft averaged between 600,000 to 800,000 viewers.
Attendance Records will be Set
With massive attention surrounding the franchise, the spike in attendance for the Fever is inevitable. Making this prediction even more bold – the Fever will sell out the season.
Much talk has surrounded enforcing the WNBA to approve that teams throughout the league move all upcoming games to larger arenas due to the ticket demands. The Fever however won’t have this problem as they still get to call Gainbridge Fieldhouse, also home to the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, their arena.
Average ticket costs doubled in price after Clark declared for the draft. Vivid Seats also reported that preseason tickets have even seen a staggering increase in price, almost tripling in cost.
The Fever will have 36 of their 40 games nationally televised. This comes after having just one game nationally televised during the entire 2023 season.
Clark will Break Numerous Records in Rookie Season
Caitlin Clark already claimed the title for all time leading scorer in points in the NCAA for both men’s and women’s basketball, and the expectation is that these stellar skills will translate to the professional level.
After being the recipient of the Wooden Award and National Player of the Year in her final season as a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes, Clark continues to set the bar higher for herself. Her nature is simply that, always be a competitor.
The WNBA is a different pace and Clark will see a totally different style of play. Records aren’t the most important thing, but they can leave a lasting impact for generations to come. She set the pace continuously in her collegiate career and her expectation is to keep that momentum going as a member of the WNBA.
Indiana Fever will win the 2024 WNBA Championship
There’s too much talent complimented by many different skills on this year’s roster. The return of Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell and additions of Clark and Taylor create a great combination of leadership and young talent. Perhaps this isn’t a bold and surprising prediction, however, despite the Fever coming off a 13-27 season in 2023, the expectations are still certainly high.
One thing that Fever personnel are excited about is the growth and development that will surround the sport. The level of skills that the upcoming players are bringing in will attract larger fan bases and even young girls that may feel inspired by these incredible athletes.
Along with the many positives that Clark and other draftees have had on the WNBA, even prior to its season starting, it brought national attention to the pay gap between the WNBA and NBA.
Clark’s WNBA salary is less than that of some NBA mascots. It can be said that looking into this year’s season, some major attention will turn to this pay gap. Clark will make just over $76,000 in her rookie season. This number is far below those of the NBA, including its league minimum.
Fans will be interested to see how the sport progresses not just over the course of this season, but for many years to come. GM’s, players and coaches are excited to see growth in the game of basketball.
After tonight’s game, Clark and the Fever will head to Brooklyn on May 18 in a matinee matchup on ABC.
