The first regular season of the Caitlin Clark era is officially over after the Indiana Fever lost to the Washington Mystics 92-91 in the finale Thursday.
Indiana now turns its attention to the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Clark's arrival supercharged the Fever in just one year. Now, the team is preparing for a playoff series as one of the most popular franchises in the WNBA.
It's a stark contrast for many of Clark's teammates with the team before she was drafted with the first overall pick in April. They weren't used to winning, and they weren't used to playing in front of sellout crowds. They weren't used to the heavy media attention Clark's presence demands.
Point guard Kelsey Mitchell told reporters ahead of Thursday's game she didn't think the public would know much about her if not for Clark, adding she was used to a more introverted approach to her job.
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"I think the reality of it is that I don't think people would know without "C squared" (Clark's nickname), so shout out to Caitlin!" Mitchell said when asked about getting more attention and fans this season.
"She's done an unbelievable job of bringing her own fans and people that support her, but, for me, I kinda laugh at it and I embrace it at the same time because I always flew under the radar. I've always kind of been that person that is very conservative, very introvert, so now I get to see the flip side of it.
"People are not guaranteed to see my play, and now that they do, I just hope I do right by them, I don't want to F it up."
The 14 most-watched WNBA games this season have all been Indiana games, according to Nielson. The team's games have even managed to challenge the NFL. On Sept. 6, while many were focused on the NFL game in Brazil, a battle between the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever averaged 1.26 million viewers on ION, giving the network another WNBA game with more than 1 million average viewers this season.
Now, with the Fever headed to the postseason, the league could see historic playoff TV ratings.
Shooting guard Erica Wheeler told reporters about Clark's presence this season.
"All we do is have fun with Caitlin Clark, who never takes anything seriously," Wheeler said. "I tell people all the time she’s really a kid at heart. … There’s moments where we need to be serious, and we are serious, but a majority of the time, we’re having fun. Because you gotta understand, the outside world was really trying to get inside this building. We just didn’t let it.
"And having fun is a great way to kinda keep that out."
Clark's rookie season had its highs and lows.
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In the Fever's most recent game against the Dallas Wings, Clark was about to pick up her seventh technical foul of the season, which would have meant a one-game suspension for the rookie.
During the game, Clark was walking up the floor after a turnover. She looked up at the replay and immediately started to mouth off to the referee. Kelsey Mitchell stuck out her arm to prevent Clark from heading over to the ref, while Aliyah Boston pulled Clark away and yelled, "No," to keep her from getting a technical foul.
Her teammates' intervention prevailed, and Clark got through the game without being assessed a technical.
Clark has also been the target of several controversial fouls from opponents this season, which has been concerning for both her and her team as a whole.
In the Fever's last game against the rival Chicago Sky weeks ago, Chicago's Diamond DeShields sent Clark flying across the floor for a foul that was later upgraded to a flagrant foul.
Clark took an infamous illegal hip check from Chicago Sky forward Chennedy Carter June 1. Clark said the hit "wasn't a basketball play" after that game. Sky rookie Angel Reese struck Clark in the head with her arm while trying to block a pass during a game June 16.
Hits against Clark have become such an issue during the superstar's rookie year that former NBA player Joakim Noah suggested the Fever sign an "enforcer" to protect her from harm.
"If I was the owner of the Indiana Fever, I would get a real enforcer in there to protect her," Noah told Fox News Digital. "Sometimes I feel like she is getting hit because she is a very talented person. But, at the end of the day, we’re in the business of winning games. So, if I’m the owner [of the Indiana Fever], I’m getting a real enforcer in there."
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