Caitlin Clark's WNBA regular-season debut follows similar hype as others - ESPN

Caitlin Clark will make her long-awaited regular-season WNBA debut Tuesday when she faces the Connecticut Sun (7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN 2).

Clark's decorated college career with the Iowa Hawkeyes included breaking the all-time Division I scoring record, two trips to the national championship game and two Naismith Player of the Year awards.

An hour after the Fever selected Clark at No. 1 in April's WNBA draft, Vivid Seats traffic for the Fever's page spiked by 62%, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The increased attention is reminiscent of other prospects who had similar hype heading into their professional debut.

Here's a look back at some notable debuts since 2000.

Stats: 34 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals

After leading the Tennessee Lady Volunteers to two straight national championships, Parker's stock was high heading into the 2008 WNBA draft. The Sparks selected Parker at No. 1, a day after she won a national title.

The Sparks' selection immediately paid dividends. Parker had 34 points, the most by a rookie in their WNBA debut, shooting 63% from the field.

Stats: 22 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block

There wasn't much Taurasi didn't do with the UConn Huskies. Taurasi won three national championships, two Naismith and Big East Player of the Year awards and the 2002-03 AP Player of the Year award.

The Mercury selected her at No. 1 in the 2004 WNBA draft. Though Taurasi posted a solid stat line in her debut, she would go on to foul out in a loss.

Stats: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

Ionescu's four-year career with the Oregon Ducks made her the consensus favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. The Liberty selected her at No. 1 and Ionescu struggled in her first outing.

She had