Caitlin Clark explains why she was ‘really upset’ at WNBA draft

Caitlin Clark’s draft night wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

The Fever guard recalled feeling “so upset” after Indiana selected her with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, which took place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on April 15.

“I was so upset because after I got drafted I just got drug out immediately and I didn’t get to see any of the draft,” Clark said on the “Fresh Talk” podcast with her former Iowa teammates, Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall and host Jada Gyamfi, who is a junior forward for the Hawkeyes.

“I had my phone but I really couldn’t go on it. It made me so upset. I didn’t even get to see Kate get drafted … but it made me really upset,” Clark continued.

“Then we went and had fun but … I didn’t even take pictures with you guys, my family, [boyfriend] Connor McCaffery — no one.”  

Martin attended this year’s WNBA draft to support Clark and wound up getting selected by the Las Vegas Aces with the No. 18 overall pick.

The Iowa product was sitting in the crowd taking in the draft, when WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert called her name in the second round.

Clark’s experience at the WNBA draft was different for a number of reasons.

The former All-American guard was fresh off of a historic career at Iowa, which included back-to-back trips to the Final Four in 2023 and 2024.

In her senior year with the Hawkeyes, Clark became the NCAA’s Division I all-time leading scorer for men’s and women’s basketball.

When she arrived in Brooklyn, Clark was already a household name whose fame was rapidly mounting.

It’s also normal for the No. 1 pick in any draft to be whisked away from photos and interviews, among other obligatory duties.

As Clark mentioned, the group went out and had fun after the draft.

Clark, McCaffery, Marshall, Martin and Gyamfi enjoyed celebratory drinks at The Fleur Room, a glass-encased lounge on Moxy Chelsea’s 35th floor, which features 360-degree views of the Manhattan skyline, from the Statue of Liberty to the Empire State Building.

Raina Harmon, an assistant coach for the Hawkeyes, was also seen with the group in photos on social media at the time.

Clark went on to break a number of records in her rookie year and made the WNBA All-Star team en route to winning the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year award.

She has yet to decide if she will join the Unrivaled League, a new 3-on-3 league founded by the Liberty’s Breanna Stewart and the Lynx’s Napheesa Collier — which takes place in the WNBA offseason.

The league reportedly has offered Clark more than $1 million plus revenue-sharing opportunities.