'Is Caitlin Clark the next Larry Bird?' How WNBA rookie could turn Fever upside down

INDIANAPOLIS -- Long before sports retailers started rolling out "Caitlin Clark Effect" t-shirts, a nod to the widespread mania the Indiana Fever rookie is infusing into the sport of women's basketball, there was another player who earned an "effect" after his name.

The year was 1979 when the No. 6 NBA draft pick finished his college days at Indiana State, headed to Boston and ignited a fire beneath what, the season before, had been the worst Celtics team in history.

During Bird's rookie season in the NBA, he catapulted his team from a 23-59 finish, the worst record of any Celtics team that played between 1950 and 1996, to a 61-21 record and the Atlantic Division title.

Sports gurus called it the Larry Bird Effect.

Could Clark have that effect on the Fever, who finished 13-27 last year and 5-31 the year before, the worst record in the WNBA? Can she come in and immediately transform a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs since 2016, Tamika Catchings' last season, to a team who can? Can she come in and do what Bird did 35 years ago?

"Wow, is Caitlin Clark the next Larry Bird? Loretta Bird. That's a great question," Fever general manager Lin Dunn said Wednesday. "Let's hope she is. Let's hope she has the impact on this franchise that Larry Bird had on his franchise."

Much like her predecessor, Clark isn't good at any one thing. She isn't great at just any one thing. When she steps onto the court, the entire team gets better, said Fever coach Christie Sides.

"I mean, she can shoot the basketball, which really helps us spread the floor out," said Sides. "But her ability to pass and her willingness to pass is just something like ...."

That's what all Clark's teammates are buzzing about right now.

"If you talk to them, they're just really surprised at how well she's able to find them on the court in transition," Sides said." She's a willing passer at any point in time. She makes us all better."

Last year's No. 1 Fever draft pick Aliyah Boston said it feels pretty good to have Clark on her team rather than against her.

"I remember the first day she came in, I was like, 'Caitlin, I don't have any beef with you, but girl, you did not have to drop 41 against me. I'm really trying to get to that championship,'" said Boston referring to Iowa's upset of South Carolina in the NCAA tournament in 2023. "It feels great just because you're able to see and be on that side of receiving passes, just the way she shoots the ball. She just makes you better and I think she pushes you just because of her competitive spirit."

Boston, just like Clark, was told it takes time for players to transition to the WNBA, that the game is more physical.

"There's a lot of people that are saying, 'Oh, it takes so long to just get acclimated to the league.' And it does. I mean, it's a different level," said Sides. "But in my experience, they come in hungry, ready to work, ready to fit in, want to do whatever is needed for the team to have success."

And there may be no one hungrier than Clark.

Clark: Get a floater and get stronger

When asked about transitioning to the league, what she has noticed so far, albeit without having even played a game in the WNBA, Clark could only guess just how effective she can be.

"I think the physicality is probably going to be one of the biggest things for myself," Clark said Wednesday. "Obviously, the college game, it was physical to an extent, but the people I'm going to be playing in this league are full-grown, very strong women. You're going to get hit. You're going to get bumped. People are going to defend you hard when you're driving the ball to court."

Clark said the physicality may be more of a mental obstacle for her, than a reality on the court. She knows she hasn't had the time, one month since playing her last college game, to really work in the weight room like she wants.

"I will have to get stronger," she said. "But I'm in really good basketball shape. I kind of try to look at the positives. I've been playing basketball for however many months here, so maybe in a way, it almost makes my transition a little easier."

Clark sees endless possibilities with her game in the WNBA, rather than limits.

"I feel like there's still so much I can add to my game," she said. "Being able to get a floater, that being something I'm comfortable getting. I think the biggest things are like, just be confident in everything I've been able to do.

"I've been playing my best basketball of my life, and hopefully (will be) able to replicate that in this league."

Clark plans to evaluate and re-evaluate after each game to see what's going to work and what's not going to work at the pro level. "Then just refine that," she said, "and continue to add things that are going to make me better."

And, Dunn said, she won't have to do it all on her own.

"When she's out there, everybody's better. She has that impact on people. And she's very unselfish. She's an excellent passer," Dunn said. "And so, we're excited about how she can play with Aliyah Boston, NaLyssa Smith, how she can create shots for Kelsey Mitchell."

A playoff run in Clark's first season is the team's overall goal. And no one is shying away from saying it's possible.

"The No. 1 goal is definitely going to be playoff and not just playoffs at like lower seeds but hopefully even in the middle of the pack," said Boston. "That's how we want to come in this year and that's how we want to compete and just make it hard for teams."

When asked if Clark could push the Fever from a losing season to playoff contender in her first season, Kelsey Mitchell said it's a definite possibility.

"I think who she is and what she brings to us will enhance what we did last year and take it to another level for sure." Mitchell said. "When you've got a person that can shoot the ball like that from different areas of the floor, it just, the game goes (to an entirely different level)."

As for Clark superseding the Lary Bird Effect and taking the Fever to the championships, Dunn said not to get too far ahead.

"Can we challenge immediately for a championship? Let's be realistic. We're challenging to get in the playoffs. That's our goal this year. We know we're better. We know we have more talent," she said. "And we want to get in those playoffs and just see what we can do. And then just keep building and hopefully in the future we can challenge for championships."

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'Caitlin Clark next Larry Bird?' How rookie can turn Fever upside down