Fever select Clark No. 1 in WNBA draft
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark – the superstar who shattered collegiate scoring records this past season – was selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA draft on Monday night in New York.
With the Fever, Clark will be paired with last year’s No. 1 overall pick, South Carolina product Aliyah Boston. Together, the two former consensus national players of the year in college will attempt to lead a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2016.
While Clark led all of college in scoring in 2023/24 with an average of 31.6 points per game, her passing helped lead her to the top spot in the WNBA draft.
As she led Iowa to the national title game for the second year in a row, the 22-year-old native of West Des Moines, Iowa, topped the nation in assists, too, at 8.9 per game.
A three-time Big Ten Player of the Year and two-time national player of the year, Clark scored 3,951 points in her four seasons playing for the Hawkeyes, making her the all-time leading scorer in all of Division I college basketball, women’s and men’s.
Clark’s Hawkeyes fell in this year’s national title game to the South Carolina Gamecocks, whose 6-foot-7 center, Kamilla Cardoso, was taken No. 3 overall by the Chicago Sky. In Chicago, Cardoso will team up with former LSU star Angel Reese, whom the Sky selected with the seventh overall pick.
Stanford’s Cameron Brink – the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year – was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks with the second overall pick. The Sparks then drafted Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson with the fourth pick.
With the fifth pick, the Dallas Wings chose Ohio State sharpshooter Jacy Sheldon.
Versatile UConn forward Aaliyah
Edwards was taken sixth by the Washington Mystics, and the Minnesota Lynx selected Utah’s Alissa Pili eighth.
Three international players were taken in the first round, with French guard Carla Leite going to Dallas at No. 9, French guard Leila Lacan going to the Connecticut Sun at No. 10, and Australian forward Nyadiew Puoch going to the Atlanta Dream with the 12th and final pick of the first round.
Report: US Olympic roster includes LeBron, Steph
USA Basketball has settled on most of its roster for the Paris Olympics, which will include Stephen Curry making his first trip to the Games, ESPN and The Athletic reported.
The team, led by managing director Grant Hill, has cemented 11 of 12 roster spots while leaving one vacancy to be filled after a training camp this July.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant and Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns are also featured on the roster. James is slated to make his first Olympic appearance since 2012 and the fourth of his career.
The other team members locked in are Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday of the Boston Celtics, Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat and Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers, the reports said.
Curry was not selected for the 2012 London Games, which took place after his third year in the NBA and before his rise as one of the greatest shooters in league history. He withdrew in 2016 due to multiple nagging injuries and turned down the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr serves as Team USA’s head coach and will be assisted by Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and Gonzaga coach Mark Few. (Reuters)