All eyes are on Caitlin Clark these days, and for good reason. Not only is it one of the greatest sporting spectacles; In his final home game of the regular season on Sunday, the Iowa star surpassed the legendary “Pistol Pete” Maravich for most points scored by a Division I basketball player (men's or women's).
Expected by many to be the Indiana Fever's No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, the question is what should be expected from Clark in women's fantasy basketball this season? And with that, at what height should she be chosen?
We turned to our fantasy experts Andre Snellings, Eric Moody, Liz Loza, and Jennifer LaCroix for their thoughts.
What's the best-case scenario for Clark's fantasy ranking?
At best she averages 20+ PPG, 5+ RPG and 5+ APG, this would mean that her team will automatically give her up as the team's main player. Basically her team allows her to be the engine that moves them forward. This would also assume that she has no problems making the transition from college to the pros and that she is not tired of playing a full college season and then going straight to another pro season. Do I think this is feasible? Yes… I think it's likely… No. — LaCroix
The best-case scenario is that Clark produces similar numbers to Sabrina Ionescu, who led the WNBA in three-pointers made last season while averaging 17.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 5.4 APG in her first season. If Clark came out smoking, at that level, she would make her a top 10 player in fantasy basketball rankings. — Snellings
Projecting a rookie's ability to make an immediate impact at the professional level is always a difficult task. Predicting Clark's productivity in the first year is more complicated because of her likely landing spot. Clark will join 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston at Indiana as the Fever retained the top pick in the WNBA for the second straight year. Boston closed her rookie campaign as the 17th most productive player in Fantasy. While Clark and Boston possess different skill sets, minutes are key in fantasy and each player's usage remains up in the air. Still, Clark is considered a generational talent, whose potential presence is already affecting ticket sales. She will be on the court. And given the consistency of her dominance, I think she will adapt quickly. The Iowa product has top-10 potential heading into 2024. Crockery
A top-20 finish in fantasy rankings would be a best-case scenario, and is possible considering the high usage rate she should have early on, similar to the two previous No. 1 overall picks, Aliyah Boston and Rhyne Howard. — Moody
What's the worst-case scenario for Clark's fantasy ranking?
The worst case scenario probably has to do with injuries and/or difficulties adjusting to the more physical professional game. But Clark is a perimeter player, and if the Fever selects her at No. 1, she would go to an upcoming team with an All-Star guard in Kelsey Mitchell and two strong interior players in Aliyah Boston and NaLyssa Smith. If he didn't start from the beginning or had to deal with an injury, he could be in the 40-50 range along with other promising young players like last season's No. 2 overall pick, Diamond Miller (43rd in ESPN rankings). . — Snellings
I think the worst case scenario is that he barely averages double figures and struggles to shoot efficiently. As I mentioned earlier, she will finish playing a full college season and will go straight into the WNBA season. She will be tired and will have to face players who have been pros for a long time, who are stronger, faster and whose basketball IQ is higher than anyone she has faced in college. Plus, I guess a lot of these pro players will be waiting to give Clark the best chance of her when they play against her. We also have to take into account how she fits into a team; At Iowa she is the go-to player and basically she can shoot and do whatever she wants because she is the best player on that team. In the WNBA, if she ends up on the Fever with Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, that type of mentality is very different and she may have to change her volume shooting mentality slightly. — LaCroix
Clark is a phenomenon and a legitimate superstar in every sense of the word. She has the potential to become the face of the league as a rookie. It's hard for me to see her ranked outside the top 25, even if she somehow gets drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks at No. 2 overall and she has to play alongside Nneka Ogwumike. — Moody
Boston, Miller and Dorka Juhasz were the three rookies who played the most minutes in 2023. Miller, as mentioned above, had the biggest impact in fantasy, averaging 31.5 minutes per game and recording a total of 1,212 fantasy points (17th place) last year. Miller and Juhász averaged around 25 minutes per game and each finished just outside the top 40 of fantasy producers. Anything less than 30 minutes of usage per game for Clark seems unlikely, but stranger things have happened. There is a world where she is ranked outside the top 30. — Crockery
Where would you classify it?
Clark is a record scorer. His long distance shooting is impressive. But he's also an incredible passer, as Rebecca Lobo says. noted after Clark made history over the weekend. Each assist is worth one point in ESPN fantasy scoring. Given Clark's overall offensive prowess, it will be difficult for me to place her outside the top 12. — Crockery
I would put her at a 10. I think she will have a similar outcome to Ionescu in her 2021 campaign (she missed almost all of her rookie season with an ankle injury). Ionescu averaged 10+ PPG, 5+ RPG, and 5+ APG in that 2021 season and was a huge impact player for Liberty. I think Clark could average better numbers than Ionescu in her first season, but it will still be an adjustment for her. I don't think he's going to be the league's leading scorer or the league's leader in any statistical category this season, but I think he could be in the top five in a lot of them because he's so versatile. I also don't think we can assume she'll put up the same numbers she does now in the college game. Because? Because, as I mentioned before, she is a different talent pool, and an example to watch out for is when Kelsey Plum came into the league, the former all-time DI record holder. She struggled and only averaged 8.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg and 3.5 rpg during her first three seasons in the WNBA. There is an adjustment period for players coming from college and we have to take that into account with Clark even though she is a more versatile player than Plum offensively. — LaCroix
I would rank her between 25th and 30th. Behind former MVP Jonquel Jones (25th in ESPN's rankings) and close to his new teammate Smith (30th in rankings). I expect Clark to earn a starting spot for the Fever and be able to play well in front of his teammates, with Mitchell giving him space to shoot while defenses have to compete with Boston and Smith in the middle. — Snellings
I would rank Clark around No. 15. She averaged 32.2 points per game in her final college season, and the supply of viable guards in WNBA fantasy hoops is limited. The only point guards she would have above her in the rankings are Jewell Loyd, Arike Ogunbowale, Ionescu, Chelsea Gray, Howard and Plum. — Moody
