“I AM LEAVING”: Indiana Fever key player shocked fans with immediate resignation and exit today after facing….

The way Caitlin Clark has already changed the Indiana Fever and WNBA has amazed her teammates.

On April 15, Caitlin Clark was selected by the WNBA. Her influence on the Indiana Fever organization has already been so profound that it has fundamentally altered the lives of her seasoned teammates.

The things one player can accomplish are amazing!

Almost every game during her senior year at Iowa was sold out, making Clark the best scorer in college basketball history. Throughout the entire season, Hawkeyes supporters filled every available seat, and road crowds were consistently almost full or overflowing. There was a sellout for the Big Ten Tournament. As well as the NCAA Tournament’s latter stages.

The 22-year-old has had a global impact on women’s collegiate basketball that cannot be overstated. Clark will have a comparable influence on the WNBA. Actually, it’s rather alike!

NaLyssa Smith won a national title at Baylor and was selected by the Fever with the second overall pick in 2022. Over the past two years, she has made just under 60 starts for the team, and she will be among the starting five.

over the coming months, alongside Clark and the current Rookie of the Year, Aliyah Boston.

The look of this season will be drastically different. in terms of the actual play on the court as well as the ambiance.

Smith discussed the shift at her training camp press conference.

We had a barn where we used to play for six fans. We will now perform in arenas that are completely sold out.

The Indiana Farmers Coliseum, a state fairground arena originally opened in 1939 as a part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration during The New Deal, was the home of Indiana’s previous home games. Despite its 2014 renovation, the arena is not as good as Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

In 2024, the Fever will use Gainbridge for all of their home games. Anticipating the large attendance, some rivals have already rescheduled their match against Clark and company to a larger venue.

Boston and Smith should be credited for contributing to the expansion. Overall, the WNBA is growing.

That, though, is primarily evidence of the Caitlin Clark effect!

Even though she hasn’t even played in the preseason, she has already altered the sport’s environment. She is extremely famous, to the point where a full-time bodyguard follows her about in public.

You can read Smith’s whole remarks about Clark and the Fever—both on and off the court—here: