Catch the Fever: Caitlin Clark Set for WNBA Preseason
No. 1 Pick Overwhelming Choice in Rookie of the Year Odds
The WNBA preseason schedule gets underway with a pair of games on Friday night and, to the surprise of just about nobody, one of them will feature recent No. 1 overall draft pick Caitlin Clark when the Indiana Fever heads to Arlington, Texas, to meet up with the Dallas Wings.
Indiana’s other preseason game is on May 10 against the Atlanta Dream. With Clark and 2023 No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston joined by veteran guard Kelsey Mitchell, the WNBA odds have Indiana and Dallas tied for fifth at +2000 in the odds of winning the WNBA championship.
The game will also be the preseason debut for No. 5 overall pick Jacy Sheldon, a guard from Ohio State who joins a Dallas team loaded with former top-five draft picks.
It might be a good idea to grab tickets for the preseason games involving the Fever. With women’s basketball enjoyed unprecedented popularity in the last couple of years thanks to Clark, sellouts for Indiana games are happening both at home and on the road.
Indiana’s regular season doesn’t begin until May 14 with a game at Connecticut with the home opener in the regular season set for May 16 against New York, a team fresh off a run to the WNBA Finals.
Lofty Expectations for Clark
There have been high-profile rookies coming into the league before, but it would be hard to name one who received as much attention before playing her first WNBA game as the former Iowa star.
“Hi, I’m Caitlin Clark, guard for the Indiana Fever.”
We go behind the scenes of a historic @WNBA Draft in the latest episode of Fever All-Access presented by @AnthemBCBS, as we make our three selections and welcome the No. 1 overall pick to Indiana. pic.twitter.com/LSH1TzbbhJ
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) April 23, 2024
Clark led the Iowa Hawkeyes to back-to-back trips to the national title game and finished her career with an NCAA Division I women’s basketball record of 3,951 points.
Clark averaged 31.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.9 assists last season. She shot 45.5% from the field, made 201 3-pointers while connecting on 37.8% of her shots from distance, and converted on 86% of her foul shots.
In 139 career games at Iowa, Clark averaged 28.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 8.2 assists.
What will her numbers look like in the WNBA as a rookie?
Clark is priced at -125 by the BetUS sportsbook odds to have at least 130 3-pointers during the regular season and comes in at +300 to have a 3-pointer in every game in the regular season as a rookie.
No stranger to triple-doubles during her time at Iowa, there are +250 odds for Clark to have at least five triple-doubles in the regular season.
Ready to Catch the Fever?
A team doesn’t get back-to-back No. 1 overall picks by piling up the wins.
Indiana has missed the playoffs in each of the last seven seasons and won 25% of its games during that span.
The last winning season for the Fever came in 2015, when Indiana lost to Minnesota in the WNBA championship series.
There are -280 odds for Indiana to make the playoffs and it is even money for the Fever to go over 21.5 wins during the regular season.
Some other WNBA betting numbers to consider: +265 odds for Clark to average at least 20 points per game and Indiana to win a minimum of 22 regular-season games. The number jumps to +450 for Clark to put up 25 points per game and Indiana to hit the 22-win mark.
The Indiana franchise record for wins in a regular-season is 22 set during the 2009 and 2012 seasons, back when the WNBA had a 34-game schedule in the regular season.
More Awards Coming?
It might be easier to name the awards Clark didn’t win at Iowa.
Time will tell if she adds to her collection with more hardware as a rookie.
Clark is the overwhelming choice in the WNBA odds at -800 to be named the WNBA Rookie of the Year. Twelve of the last 18 winners of the award were No. 1 overall draft picks and that includes Indiana forward Aliyah Boston last season.
No. 2 overall pick Cameron Brink of the Los Angeles Sparks is at +1200 to be the Rookie of the Year followed by No. 3 pick Kamilla Cardoso of the Chicago Sky with +1400.
Clark is fourth at +1200 in the MVP odds. She trails only A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Alyssa Thomas were the top three vote-getters in the 2023 MVP race with Stewart winning one of the closest votes in league history.
Questions Of The Day
When was the last time a player was the WNBA Rookie of the Year but was not the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft?
Michaela Onyenwere was the No. 6 pick in 2021 and she was the Rookie of the Year with the New York Liberty.
How many Indiana Fever players have been named the WNBA Rookie of the Year?
Tamika Catchings was the WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2002 while Aliyah Boston won the award in 2023.
