Indianapolis – Even Caitlin Clark couldn’t help but laugh when she saw this new building in downtown Indianapolis.
In a city not known for its beautiful skyline, the JW Marriott is one of the few buildings that falls into the skyscraper category. The 376-foot-tall glass structure is just a few blocks from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where the Fever play their home games.
The building’s size and location have made it the perfect canvas for many exhibits over the years. When Indianapolis hosted the Super Bowl in 2012, A 32-story Vince Lombardi Trophy was attached to the side.Three years later, when the city hosted the Final Four, a 47,000-square-foot bracket was installed on the hotel’s exterior wall, making it the largest bracket in history.
Who’s looking out at downtown Indianapolis right now? Thanks to Gatorade, it’s Caitlin Clark herself.
“I don’t know if I ever get used to it,” Clark said, laughing when asked about the billboard before Friday’s Fever-Mercuries game, saying he could see the ad from his apartment balcony. “When I drive down the street, it kind of brings me back to old times. It’s super cool to be in a city that supports the Fever and our whole organization… but seeing my face that big, on a building that big, I don’t know if I ever get used to it.”
It’s the latest example of the whirlwind of attention the Fever has been caught up in this season. The reasons for the spotlight range from good to bad, desirable to undesirable, and sometimes all at once, but one thing remains consistent: the spotlight is always overwhelmingly bright.
the The arena was sold outrecord TV viewership, massive Gatorade advertising, and a flurry of criticism, critiques and comments across every social media platform that have become virtually unavoidable.
From the moment Clark was selected first overall in 2024 WNBA All eyes were on Indianapolis going into the draft, and any team would have struggled to handle the attention that adding Clark would bring, and the Fever were no exception.
The league hasn’t been kind to Indiana since the start of the year, either. The team bounced from big market to big market, played multiple games against the league’s best teams in the opening weeks of the season, and presented a schedule that was almost unprecedented in its difficulty.
While the Fever were internally focused on simply getting out the other side, they weren’t afforded the same grace externally, and a 2-9 start left everyone criticized. Center Aaliyah Boston forced to delete her Twitter account From her cell phone.
“I don’t use social media a lot,” Indiana coach Christy Sides said before a recent game against the Mystics, “and if I had read all that stuff before, I don’t know if I’d be sitting here today… The players get it. If they don’t think they played a good game, they’re like, ‘Oh man, I’m going to get killed.’ [on social media]’And I can’t even understand it because that’s not the world I live in.
“As much as we try to tell people to quiet the noise or ignore the noise, this is the world we live in today.”
But ignoring the noise has felt like a wasted effort at times this year. The Fever aren’t a team that’s willing to let issues escalate on or off the court, but that doesn’t really matter when it comes to whether small issues have grown into mountains.
Earlier in the season, Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter committed a flagrant foul on Clark, which sparked national controversy, but Clark did not let it escalate, reiterating after the game that he had “no choice” despite acknowledging on the court after the game that “it wasn’t a basketball play.”
When the discussion turned more serious off the court and turned to racial issues, Clark was almost too compliant on the issue before finding a firm middle ground. And when Clark received a flagrant foul from Angel Reese, she called it “part of basketball.”
Every step of the way, the Fever have tried to quiet the noise and focus on the basketball court, but every step of the way, the noise continues.
Clarke admits that it has been difficult for him to be dragged into debates he did not want to be part of.
“I feel like I’ve had to grow up pretty quickly,” Clarke said before a match against Sky in mid-June. “I’m only 22. Sometimes I feel a lot younger, and I’m trying to navigate moving to a new city on my own, playing in a new league on top of everything else that comes with it. Obviously I’ve been given so many great things in life and with that comes great responsibility. I don’t shy away from that, but I think mental health is so important and I think it’s something a lot of people in this country struggle with, especially young people.”
“I think the biggest thing is not to be afraid to ask for help. You can’t achieve everything in life. Like, I’m not afraid to ask for help and tell people, ‘Today’s not my day,’ and that’s okay. Every day doesn’t have to be perfect. There are always people around you that support you and are there for you,” Clark continued. “When you’re in the spotlight and people are watching everything you do, it can be tough.”
Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images
But while the Fever try to rise above the noise, something remarkable is also happening: seemingly almost invisible behind the national conversation about them: They’re winning games.
Indiana has won two of its first 11 games to go 8-5, including a notable home win over the New York Liberty, and is currently in the playoffs as the No. 7 seed.
After winning just 13 games last season, they have already won 10 games this year. Over the past month, they are fifth in the league in offensive power and sixth in net rating.
Clark has now recorded five straight double-doubles in points and assists, one game away from tying the league record. He is averaging 20.3 points and 12.5 assists in July and is second in the league in assists this season. He became the first rookie to record a triple-double in a win over the Liberty and nearly achieved a 5×5 performance against the Mystics, recording 29 points, 13 assists, five rebounds, five steals and three blocks.
Boston was named Player of the Week in June and averaged 17 points and 10.2 rebounds last month, turning around a slow start to the season.
But the team’s leading scorer during that span has not been Clark or Boston; it has been the team’s third All-Star, Kelsey Mitchell, who is averaging 19.5 points on 50% shooting from the field.
All three have emerged as some of the best players in the league this season. She ranked in the top 15 in the league in scoring last month, a feat matched only by the Las Vegas Aces (A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum).
Now the attention they receive isn’t as great or negative, Clarke is aware that all eyes are on her and Fever, which can be good or bad, but ultimately it’s something she wouldn’t have any other way.
Even if it means she can’t do some things the average person might do, even if it means fans will swarm her and her teammates at dinner, even if it means she’ll be the center of many discussions throughout her career, Clarke welcomes the attention.
“I wouldn’t want to change it,” Clark said. “It’s really special. It’s cool to see how excited our community is, seeing how many people are cheering for us, not just in Indianapolis but on the road too.”
“I still feel like I’m a young kid who loves basketball and the game and being with my teammates and friends and family. Honestly, that’s how I try to live my life.”
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