In professional basketball, most rookies need to be brought along slowly, requiring a couple of seasons to find their footing.
Caitlin Clark isn’t like most rookies. The No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft was thrown into the fire immediately—and delivered one of the best rookie seasons in WNBA history. With 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston at center and the No. 2 overall pick of the 2022 draft, NaLyssa Smith, on the wing, the Fever had their young core set, which they could develop with time. But with the season Clark had, why wait?
While you probably won’t find a bigger supporter of Smith’s game than myself, she was not a good fit next to Clark and Boston. Smith is a streaky, high-energy player who needs space under the boards to showcase her full potential, but Boston and Clark are also great rebounders. The three could learn to coexist, but because Boston and Clark are already All-Star players, why wait?
So, the Fever are not waiting. After hiring a new head coach in Stephanie White and retaining two-time All-Star Kelsey Mitchell on a one-year $249,244 supermax deal, the team has been active in the WNBA’s free agency period, swinging trades and signings to put a more experienced, win-now roster around Clark and Boston.
