No. 22 is about to be No. 1.
Caitlin Clark, the transcendent Iowa superstar who set college scoring records by the threeful and in recent weeks made women’s basketball one of America’s most-watched television shows, will join the Indiana Fever as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on Monday night (7:30 p.m., ESPN).
“I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said after her team defeated Clark and Iowa for the national championship last Sunday.
“She carried a heavy load for our sport. And it’s just not going to stop here on the collegiate tour. But when she’s the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, she’s going to lift that league up as well.”
OK, that’s the layup portion of these predictions.
How will the rest of a draft night with historic levels of anticipation — college stars such as LSU’s Angel Reese, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso and Stanford’s Cameron Brink will join Clark at the festivities in Brooklyn — shake out?
(Quick reminder: Would-be lottery pick Paige Bueckers has said she will return to UConn, and underclassmen such as USC star JuJu Watkins are ineligible for the WNBA draft.)
Here are our projections for the first round:
No. 1 Indiana Fever: Caitlin Clark, Iowa, PG
The questions around the all-time NCAA leading scorer already have moved past whether Clark will land in Indiana — imagine if the Fever trade the pick after all this, though, what a hoot that would be! — to whether she’ll be a top-10 player or merely an All-Star as a rookie. Fatigue and highly motivated defenders will work against her, but she’ll also have the best teammates she’s ever had.
Be the first to comment