Caitlin Clark’s debut struggles and everything we learned from the WNBA’s opening night

D’Angelo Russell

Michael Voepel

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Michael Voepel

ESPN.com

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.

Kevin Pelton

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Kevin Pelton

ESPN Senior Writer

Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus series
Formerly a consultant with the Indiana Pacers
Developed WARP rating and SCHOENE system

May 15, 2024, 01:11 AM ET

The 2024 WNBA season is here. Caitlin Clark’s pro era is officially underway. And the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, Connecticut Sun, New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx opened with victories Tuesday.

Clark and the Indiana Fever tipped off the season on the road, falling 92-71 at Connecticut, as Alyssa Thomas, the Sun’s perennial MVP candidate, tallied a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists.

Clark, the No. 1 pick in April’s WNBA draft and the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer, finished with 20 points, 3 assists and 2 steals in her WNBA debut. But she struggled much of the night, committing 10 turnovers and shooting 5-for-15 from the field and 4-for-11 on 3-pointers. At halftime, she had five turnovers and seven points.

Clark’s 20 points ranks second in franchise history behind Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings (23 in 2002) for a Fever player debut. Candace Parker had the highest point total for any WNBA player in her debut, with 34 in 2008. Among No. 1 picks in the past decade, Clark is second to Breanna Stewart (23 points) in 2016.

How did the Aces, Liberty, Lynx and Sun start the season in the win column? How did absences from injured center Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury and point guard Chelsea Gray of Las Vegas impact their teams’ games? And how did the Storm look with Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith making their Seattle debuts?

ESPN breaks down opening night.

D’Angelo Russell After a slow start, Clark heated up late in the game but struggled overall. In which areas was she most exposed? And what was most promising about her pro debut?

Voepel: It says something about how over-the-top the expectations are for Clark that she had a team-high 20 points in her professional debut but the performance will be defined by many as a “struggle,” primarily for the turnovers.

That’s to be expected, though, for any rookie point guard, considering just how much quicker and experienced the defense is at th
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