Adam Silver’s message to Caitlin Clark after talks | NBA News

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has hailed Caitlin Clark’s sensational rookie season with the Indiana Fever, stating that she has “set the world on fire”. Silver was in attendance on the Indiana Pacers’ sport in opposition to the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night, the place he took the chance to meet 22-year-old Clark who was seated courtside.

Although it stays unclear what the pair mentioned during their transient interplay, Silver publicly praised Clark’s spectacular record of accomplishments. Speaking on FanDuel Sports Network Indiana, Silver stated: “Caitlin Clark set the world on fire, not just this community.”

He added: “People are seeing how deep this league is, how good the quality of basketball is. I jokingly said this league is a 28-year overnight sensation.” Clark first made waves within the basketball world at U16 degree, securing gold within the FIBA Americas Championship in 2017 earlier than occurring to win at U19 within the FIBA World Cups in Thailand and Hungary.

The younger star selected to pursue her research on the University of Iowa whereas honing her expertise with the Hawkeyes, reviews the Irish Star. From 2020 to 2024, Clark obtained quite a few prestigious awards for her performances with the workforce, together with two AP Player of the Year awards, John R. Wooden accolades, and James E. Sullivan awards, in addition to a pair of Naismith College Player of the Years and USBWA National Player of the Years.

Clark’s collegiate achievements are only the start, along with her well-known No. 22 jersey being retired by the Iowa Hawkeyes. She was chosen as the primary total decide of the 2024 WNBA draft by the Fever in April this yr and made her debut the next month in a 92-71 defeat to Connecticut Sun.

Despite the loss, Clark managed to rating 20 factors and made 10 turnovers the best quantity from a debutant in WNBA historical past, hinting at an spectacular first season within the large leagues. Thanks to a whirlwind marketing campaign, Clark helped the Fever attain their first playoffs in eight years, though they had been defeated by the Sun as soon as more in a best-of-three collection.

The level guard broke a number of prestigious WNBA data during her rookie season, together with turning into the primary Fever participant in historical past to file a triple-double, setting the WNBA single-season file in turnovers, breaking the WNBA rookie assists file, scoring a league-high 122 three-pointers, and turning into the quickest lady to break 100 three pointers within the WNBA.

Thanks to her efforts, Clark completed the common season with an average of 19.2 factors, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per sport, and subsequently received the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year award after receiving 66 of the 67 complete votes. Fans can be eagerly anticipating how Clark continues to excel because the 2025 season begins.