Caitlin Clark’s WNBA colleagues may bristle at the attention being paid to this year’s number one pick, but her effect on interest in the league simple cannot be denied. In the latest example, Clark’s Fever team visited the Atlanta Dream on Friday. The Dream normally play at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, which has a capacity of 3,500 and usually has plenty of available seats.
But demand for the tickets was so high that the game was moved to Phillips Arena in Atlanta, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. An estimated 17,575 attended the game, shattering the previous attendance record for a Dream game, which came during their inaugural game in 2008. That game drew an estimated 11,609 fans.
On the court, the Fever won their fourth consecutive game, something the moribund franchise has not done since 2015. Clark scored 16 points on 6-12 shooting with 7 assists and 4 rebounds. She continued to struggle with turnovers, an issue that has plagued her young WNBA career, committing 7. Nonetheless, the Fever cruised to a 91-79 victory.
Clark, whose presence in games at Iowa frequently drew large crowds both at home and on the road, was nonplussed by the extra attention. “These type of environments for me, it’s not that different,” Clark said. “But these environments are something that I become … I don’t want to say ‘used to’ … but you’re accustomed to playing in. And it’s fun.”
Tickets are also at high demand for the Fever’s upcoming Sunday game against the Chicago Sky, which have already been in two games against the Fever this year, both of which involved controversy. In the first, Sky player Chennedy Carter committed a controversial hard foul on Clark, hitting her from behind and knocking her to the ground before the ball was even thrown in bounds on the play. In the second, fellow rookie Angel Reese was assessed a flagrant 1 for a hard foul on Clark after connecting her elbow hard with Clark’s head while attempting to block a shot.