Clark and Haliburton will share an arena going forward
by Tony East
INDIANAPOLIS — Central Indiana will be blessed with great point guard play on their professional basketball teams in the foreseeable future. The Indiana Pacers have Tyrese Haliburton, a two-time All-Star who was just named to Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Indiana Fever now roster Caitlin Clark, a star guard from Iowa who they selected with the first overall pick in Monday’s WNBA Draft.
The two both come from colleges in Iowa. Clark played for the Hawkeyes while Haliburton spent two seasons with the Iowa State Cyclones. Now, both will represent the state of Indiana and play in the same market.
They met for the first time on Wednesday after Clark’s introductory press conference. In said press conference, Clark actually discussed the Pacers and her thoughts on Haliburton.
“Tyrese is incredible, and I just want to congratulate him on being named to the USA National Team today,” Clark said. “Obviously, he played for a very terrible team in college,” she added, jokingly.
“It’s nice to be in the same city now, and the thing I love about him is the way he passes the ball. I watch his game and it’s just incredible what he can do. But all of them across the board. I think Coach Carlisle has been tremendous for them, and it’s been a lot of fun to watch,” Clark added. “I hope they beat the Bucks.”
Indiana began an NBA playoff series with the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, and it’s clear who Clark will be rooting for. She posed for a photo with Haliburton on Wednesday.
“It’s great,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Clark being with the Fever. “This is a momentous 24 hour period and all the things that are going to come with it,” he added before noting that the Fever have 36 of their 40 games on National TV in 2024. “For the city of Indianapolis, you’ve got Tyrese… you’ve got Caitlin Clark… It’s exciting times.”
Clark averaged 31.6 points and 8.9 assists per game in her final season at Iowa.
Originally posted on FanNation