Fever's NaLyssa Smith Thanks Caitlin Clark for the House Amid WNBA Attendance Record
The Indiana Fever suffered a narrow defeat against the Washington Mystics on Thursday, 92-91.
While the Fever roster was healthy, most of their top players played minimal minutes because they were already locked into the No. 6 seed in the WNBA playoffs. For example, rookie Caitlin Clark — who has played all 40 minutes in multiple games this season — only played 20 minutes in Thursday's contest.
Despite this, Thursday's Fever vs. Mystics game shattered a WNBA attendance record, as 20,711 fans showed up for Washington's season finale.
Officially official ✍️
— Washington Mystics (@WashMystics) September 20, 2024
The largest attended game in @WNBA history 👏 pic.twitter.com/rxdrk8cKND
While this is an incredible feat, the Fever have gotten used to playing in front of packed crowds due to the massive audience that Caitlin Clark attracts to every game Indiana plays.
And after Thursday's game, Fever forward NaLyssa Smith showed Clark love for the impact she has had.
"It's huge," Smith said when asked about playing in front of a record-breaking crowd, per Matthew Byrne. "This is what we've been hoping for forever. So you know it's fun to play in these games, you never get used to it; just always showing up and playing in front of sold-out crowds.
"And I mean, shoutout Caitlin," Smith said with a laugh while shrugging her shoulders. "Shoutout Caitlin. We appreciate her."
NaLyssa Smith on playing in the record-breaking 20K+ crowd tonight: "This is what we've been hoping for forever... you never get used to it: just always showing up and playing in front of sold-out crowds."
— Matthew Byrne (@MatthewByrne1) September 20, 2024
"And I mean, shoutout Caitlin. Shoutout Caitlin. We appreciate her." pic.twitter.com/Phj2B4K1gM
Smith has been one of the most criticized Fever players this season due to having some inconsistency on the court, along with various comments she has made off of the court.
But it's clear that her and Clark have a solid relationship, and it's cool to see Smith praising her rookie sensation this way ahead of Indiana's first playoffs appearance since 2016.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.