Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabari understands the impact Kaitlyn Clark has had on the WNBA and women's basketball as a whole, but seeing all of Clark's jerseys in the stands on Sunday didn't sit well with her.
The Wings' home arena, College Park Center, was packed with fans who had come to watch the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft, and Sabally couldn't help but notice the opposing team's jerseys in the stands.
“Obviously, it was frustrating because there were so many Caitlin Clark fans in the arena,” Sabally said with a laugh, “but kudos to them. It's great to see so many people wearing women's basketball jerseys. It's great to see the excitement and joy that comes from it. Although I think the Dallas fans could have done better.”
“I have mixed feelings seeing all these Kaitlyn jerseys in the house, but it's a great sign for women's basketball and it's great that we've come this far. It's just fun. It's a good thing.”
The Fever and Clark have been among the WNBA's biggest drawing teams this season, breaking league attendance records with more than 500,000 fans attending their 33 games this year.
There are also an increasing number of WNBA games in which the Fever will not be playing. There is an increase of about 20 percent I attended.
Clark set the team's rookie scoring record on Sunday, finishing with 28 points on the night to bring his career total to 617.
“When I walked in before the game, there were hundreds of fans lined up. What Caitlin Clark has given to baseball is generational,” Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman said during the broadcast. “As a fellow player, I just want to thank Caitlin Clark. Thank you to you and so many other great players for making our game of baseball so great.”
