If one thing is clear, Clark ($12,500; 51.25 FPTS) soaked up some needed rest after not being selected to join Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The WNBA first overall pick—who was playing high-level ball unceasingly since September of 2023—piloted the Fever to a critical 98-89 victory over the Mercury on Friday night.
Clark came out of the gates hot, draining a 30-foot three and adding 13 points to Indiana’s 33 first-quarter score. While it wasn’t her best night from deep—finishing 4/11 from beyond the arc—Clark showed out on other spots on the floor, racking up 10 assists, five boards and 29 points.
Kelsey Mitchell ($7,900; 43.25 FPTS) played lights out for the Fever, drilling six threes and notching 28 points, both marks being her highest of the season.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Indiana as the Mercury rallied ferociously in the second half to bring the game within two points. Led by a dominating performance from Kahleah Copper ($10,200; 52.5 FPTS), Copper kept the gold-medal mentality rolling by putting up 32 points and 8 boards in the game. Fellow gold medalists Brittney Griner ($9,400; 17.5 FPTS) and Diana Taurasi put up 10 points and 16 points, respectively.
The latter player, though, is what makes tonight’s matchup so interesting—what some would describe as a “blossoming rivalry.” Let’s flashback to March Madness when Clark was competing in the Final Four matchup against Paige Bueckers and the UCONN Huskies. On the Bird & Taurasi Show, Taurasi verbalized her opinion on the WNBA’s first overall pick, stating she would take Bueckers No. 1 overall over Clark. The Mercury’s veteran expressed that the WNBA rookies—and Clark—will face reality soon and may no longer be superhuman transitioning to playing against grown women.
Back to today. Clark, well, did what she has always done. Balled out. Clark collected her 10th double-double of her rookie campaign, while also outscoring two of the three U.S. gold medalists on the Mercury.
Despite the never-ending discourse surrounding Clark’s impact on the WNBA, the Fever’s young star continues to lead rookies in points and assists. In the WNBA $60K Shootaround contest on DraftKings, Clark was rostered in 56.2% of teams and averages 40.5 FPTS per game.
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
