# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Be like Bird? What a good rookie season might look like for Caitlin Clark

# data[].attributes.body
Caitlin Clarks first WNBA game with the indiana fever and the expectations that many people now have for her. The article goes on to compare her to the past No. 1 picks like Sue Bird, Sabrina Ionescu, and many others. But Clark is aware of the challenges that come with joining the pro level and is ready for the next chapter in her career.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Michael Voepel, ESPN.comMay 3, 2024, 09:00 AM ET

Close
Michael Voepel covers the WNBA, women's college basketball, and other college sports for espnW. Voepel began covering women's basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Preseason games -- in any sport -- are rarely remarkable. Friday in Dallas might be the exception.

In an exhibition game against the Dallas Wings, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark will make her WNBA debut, and as her career starts she faces the huge expectations that usually accompany being a No. 1 draft pick.

But after a record-breaking four seasons at Iowa, Clark has even more eyes on her than any previous top selection.

How might she compare to the great guards who went before her as the top overall pick?

Will she be an elite passer like Sue Bird and Sabrina Ionescu? Will Clark -- who scored more points than any women's or men's player in Division I history -- be a WNBA scoring phenom like Diana Taurasi or Seimone Augustus? Can she develop into a top-notch defender like Jackie Young?

Before Clark plays her first WNBA preseason game Friday we look at all the former guards who were drafted first overall and have helped set the standard in the WNBA: Bird (2002), Taurasi (2004), Augustus (2006), Lindsey Harding (2007), Jewell Loyd (2015), Kelsey Plum (2017), Young (2019), Ionescu (2020) and Rhyne Howard (2022), plus Angel McCoughtry (2009), who played more in the small forward role but was listed as a forward-guard.

Five of these No. 1 picks -- Taurasi, Augustus, McCoughtry, Loyd and Howard -- won WNBA Rookie of the Year, but only one -- Taurasi in 2009 -- won the league MVP award. Bird, Taurasi, Augustus, Loyd, Plum and Young all have won at least two WNBA titles; that group plus McCoughtry were Olympic gold medalists, too.

Here is a look at how they represent the best in the WNBA, and how Clark -- who will make her pro debut May 14 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) when Indiana plays at the Connecticut Sun -- might project in those categories, too.

Point guard/leadership ability: Bird

When it comes to measuring point guard success, Bird is the gold standard. Before retiring after the 2022 season, she won two NCAA titles at UConn, four WNBA championships with the Seattle Storm and five Olympic gold medals competing for the United States.

Indiana general manager Lin Dunn drafted Bird when she was at Seattle in 2002.

"I see many [similar] characteristics between Bird and Clark," Dunn said. "The interesting thing about Caitlin is her versatility. I felt like Sue was a true point guard; she really wasn't a shooting guard. I see Caitlin as a real point guard who can also be a combo and play the 2 because of her shooting ability. When I look at the great guards I have seen, Caitlin has the potential -- if she stays healthy, adapts quickly to the physicality of this league -- to have that kind of career."

Bird talked about expanding her ability to understand her teammates and get the best from them. Clark learned to do that at Iowa and will try to do the same at the pro level.

"One of the biggest pieces of advice she's said is just continue to be yourself," Clark said of the conversations she has had with Bird. "That's going to be important for me going forward as there's going to be moments where things don't work as maybe they have in the past, but don't lose confidence in who I've been and what I've been able to do.

"She said there's always going to be learning curves and challenges. And having a little grace in that, too. Whether it's me having grace for myself, or asking my teammates and leaning on them and asking them ways I can improve."

Scoring sensations: Taurasi and Augustus

Taurasi is the WNBA's all-time leading scorer and enters her 20th season in the league with 10,108 points. Augustus, who finished her career in 2021, is tied with retired Seattle center Lauren Jackson at 13th in scoring at 6,005 points. Both Taurasi and Augustus were elite scorers from their first WNBA game.

Augustus, who was just inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame this past weekend and will go into the Naismith Hall of Fame later this year, averaged 21.9 points in her rookie season, while Taurasi averaged 17.9. Howard's 16.2 PPG in her first season ranks the best among the more recent No. 1 picks at guard.

Taurasi is also the WNBA's all-time leader in 3-point field goals with 1,361. Bird is second in that category at 1,001.

Clark, the all-time Division I scoring leader with 3,951 points, also is the NCAA women's career 3-point leader, at 548.

As a senior, Clark averaged 31.6 points, and she finished at an NCAA-record 28.4 PPG for her career. The highest season average for any WNBA player is 25.29 by Taurasi in 2006, and Loyd logged the second highest at 24.71 last season.

It's likely unrealistic to expect Clark to exactly replicate her college scoring. That said, Dunn and Fever coach Christie Sides are confident about Clark's scoring ability.

Caitlin Clark reveals her goals for rookie season with Fever

Caitlin Clark joins Pat McAfee and discusses her transition from Iowa to the WNBA with the Indiana Fever.

Elite passing: Bird and Ionescu

Bird is the WNBA's career assists leader at 3,234, an average of 5.6 in 580 regular-season games. She averaged 6.1 assists in 60 playoff games. Among younger top draft picks at guard, Ionescu has stood out as a playmaker: She averaged 5.9 assists in three full seasons plus an injury-shortened rookie campaign in which she played just three games.

At Iowa, Clark averaged 8.9 assists as a senior and 8.2 for her career; her total of 1,144 ranks third in Division I history.

"Her ability to pass and her willingness to pass ... that's what all of our players are talking about right now," Sides said.

Dunn said Clark already has made some passes in training camp that have wowed her.

"Maybe I shouldn't say this, but I'm going to anyway," Dunn said. "I don't know that I've seen a passer quite like her in the women's game. It's her floor vision, but it's also the strength of her hands. She's not only able to make the pass, but it has so much power behind it. She's got good core strength and leg strength. She can put more power behind even a lengthy pass than I've ever seen."

Triple-double potential: Ionescu

Rebounding is usually the key stat for guards to get triple-doubles. Ionescu excelled at that in college at Oregon -- where she had an NCAA-record 26 triple-doubles -- and has continued to do it with the Liberty. Ionescu is still early in her WNBA career but has averaged more rebounds (6.1) than any of the other players on this list.

Clark is 6 feet tall, which puts her on the taller side for WNBA guards. Among the players we are evaluating here, Howard is the tallest at 6-2; Harding and Plum are the shortest at 5-8.

Clark nearly finished at 3K/1K/1K for points, assists and rebounds at Iowa, totaling 990 rebounds (7.1 RPG). She had 17 career triple-doubles.

So far, the 5-11 Ionescu has four triple-doubles in the WNBA. In recent seasons, the number of triple-doubles has been trending upward. That said, Clark is joining a team with some stellar rebounders in the post, such as Aliyah Boston (8.4 RPG last season) and NaLyssa Smith (9.2 RPG in 2023).

Caitlin Clark: I can't think of a better place to start my career

Caitlin Clark voices her excitement to be with the Indiana Fever in her opening news conference.

Defensive stars: Harding, McCoughtry, Young

Harding is the outlier in this group of guards; she really wasn't a 3-point shooter. During her nine-season WNBA career, she hit double-digits in 3s just four times and finished with 80 total and 25.2% shooting from behind the arc. However, she had a double-digit scoring average for six seasons and was a consistent playmaker, averaging 4.0 assists for her career. And Harding was known from her Duke days as a strong defensive guard, especially on the ball.

But McCoughtry is the most elite defensive player on this list: She was on the WNBA's all-defensive first or second team seven times, and at 6-1 with exceptional quickness could guard many types of players. She ranked in the top 10 in steals in the WNBA in seven seasons, three of those at No. 1.

Among more recent guard picks, Young has become a star both offensively and defensively. She didn't have a big rookie season stats-wise, but as her Most Improved Player award from 2022 showed, she has blossomed into the player Las Vegas hoped for when she was taken first after her junior year at Notre Dame.

Clark isn't expected to be like Harding, McCoughtry or Young as a defender; not many players reach that level. But Dunn believes Clark's defensive ceiling is higher than people think. At Iowa, Clark averaged 1.5 steals.

"I think everybody is optimistic about her offensive skills, and a little pessimistic about her defensive skills," Dunn said. "I'm not as pessimistic because from watching her Iowa career, they allowed her to rest sometimes on defense. They had to, because of how many minutes she played and how much energy she had to have on offense.

"But I think she's quicker, faster and a better defender than she got credit for. Now, she's not as physically strong as, say, someone who is 28 years old and is a veteran player. But she is not weak defensively as some people have made her out to be."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Be like Bird? What a good rookie season might look like for Caitlin Clark

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Pass like Bird? Score like Taurasi? Caitlin Clark is hardly the first guard to go No. 1 in the draft. But she might someday also set the standard.

# data[].attributes.body
The Hawkeyes sports website shows appreciation to one of their top player on the schools women’s basketball team. the website also provides a list of the players many awards and stats.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Patrick Mahomes Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback, 3x Super Bowl Champion & MVP

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Caitlin Clark is the best player in College Basketball and here’s why.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese: By the Numbers

# data[].attributes.body
The article talks about the on and off the court rivalry between Caitlin Clark & Angel Reese, comparing the two to a similar rivalry between Larry Bird & Magic Johnson. Then goes on to compare the LSU and Iowa stats including ticket sales, social media following, box score, and W/L Records.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When 9.9 million viewers tuned in to watch the 2023 NCAA women's basketball title game, many compared it to the 1979 men's college basketball finals. That contest began the career-long rivalry between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and is, to this day, the highest-rated NCAA championship game on record.

Fans never saw a rematch with both players still in college. Angel Reese vs. Caitlin Clark, however, will get a sequel.

Reese's LSU Tigers square off against Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight on Monday night in one of the most highly anticipated college basketball games in recent memory. It's projected to be close, with a point spread of -1.5 favoring Iowa.

Last year's final wasn't a nail-biter, as LSU led by 17 at halftime and never looked back, but there was drama. Reese taunted Clark toward the end of the game by pointing at her ring finger and doing a "you can't see me" gesture, which some considered to be controversial, although Clark defended Reese after that game.

And that respect has been maintained throughout this season. "Me and Caitlin Clark don't hate each other," Reese said in a recent press conference.

Even as the two players try to clarify that they have no beef off the court, fans will certainly get riled up about the matchup. Let's take a look at how the two stars of women's college hoops compare in a few numerical metrics.

Ticket Sales

In 2022-23, the most recent season for which we have data in Sportico's College Finance Database, the Iowa women's basketball team made $1.44 million in ticketing revenue, topping LSU's $974,000. The Hawkeyes ranked second in the nation in this category after placing just eighth the previous year-an indication of Clark's rise in popularity. LSU, on the other hand, had already ranked sixth the season before Reese transferred to the school, which was head coach Kim Mulkey's first year with the program.

With fans wanting to witness history as Clark broke record after record this season, it's reasonable to assume that Iowa's ticket sales took another leap this year.

Social Media

Reese and Clark each have more Instagram followers than any other player in this year's tournament, man or woman, but the former is in a different stratosphere. Reese's 2.7 million followers are more than double Clark's 1.2 million. Reese gained a significant chunk of her following in the days following LSU's 2023 championship victory, so an opportunity to grow their personal brand is just one more thing on the line in this year's showdown.

Box Score

When it comes to scoring, there is no contest between the two superstars. Clark averaged 31.7 points per game this season en route to breaking the all-time NCAA scoring record. Reese's 18.7 points per game were actually down from the prior year, as the Tigers added several new players to their roster, including Hailey Van Lith, a transfer from Louisville. Not to mention, Clark ranked 13th in efficiency among the 175 Division I players who averaged at least 15 points per game, whereas Reese was barely above average within that cohort.

Even in LSU's 102-85 title game win last year, Clark outscored Reese 30 to 15.

Both players, however, excel in areas other than scoring. Clark led the nation in assists, while Reese was second in rebounding.

W/L Record

Reese's fans, however, would tell you not to look at the box score, and instead look at the scoreboard. Her teams have a 4-0 record in direct head-to-head matchups versus Clark, including three while Reese was at Maryland, with all of those victories coming by double-digits.

More March Madness stories:

- ACC To Earn the Most of Any Conference from March Madness
- College Basketball's Biggest Stars on Social Media Are Women
- March Madness Exile Pepperdine Makes the Most as Tourney Host
- UConn Banks on Basketball's Value in Football-Driven NCAA
- JuJu Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo Lead Next Wave

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese: By the Numbers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Caitlin Clark scores a lot more than Angel Reese, but Reese is 4-0 versus Clark in college heading into the Iowa LSU March Madness 2024 matchup.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Caitlin Clark Sends Subtle Warning to WNBA After First Training Camp Practice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The jump from college to professional basketball is not an easy one. However, fans are expecting Caitlin Clark to make a seamless transition.

Clark, the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever, kicked off training camp with her teammates on Sunday.

The former Iowa Hawkeye is already noticing how much quicker the pace of play is in the WNBA compared to what she experienced at the collegiate level.

"It's definitely different, but that's what you expect when you start a new chapter in your life," Clark said.

With that being said, Clark loves it. She argues that the faster pace of play is better suited for her game. Let's repeat that: Clark thinks her game will take off to another level in the WNBA.

Watch out, WNBA.

"It's fast, fast shot clock, but I think all of you know that's how I like to play," Clark said.

"So, I think it suits my game pretty well. It's a fast pace, a lot faster than college, and you've to learn quicker because you've got to get your mind on Friday."

© Indianapolis Star-USA TODAY NETW

It may be subtle, but that's a clear message from Clark. She believe she'll be even better in the WNBA, thanks to a faster pace of play.

Clark's WNBA begins its next chapter this Friday in the Fever's first preseason game. They'll battle the Dallas Wings.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Caitlin Clark Sends Subtle Warning to WNBA After First Training Camp Practice

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Caitlin Clark sent a clear warning to the rest of the WNBA on Monday.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
LSU’s Reese on Clark: We ‘don’t hate each other’

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
LSU’s Reese on Clark: We ‘don’t hate each other’

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Angel Reese said she has no hard feelings toward Caitlin Clark as they prepare for the LSU-Iowa rematch, saying the two stars “don’t hate each other.”

# data[].attributes.body
I really learned a lot about how much Caitlin has changed the women's basketball popularity.