Inside Caitlin Clark's first week in WNBA with Indiana Fever - ESPN

NEW YORK — Caitlin Clark was swarmed. With 53 minutes on the clock until her Indiana Fever's Saturday afternoon tilt against the New York Liberty, security flanked her as she walked behind the teams' benches to sign autographs after finishing a portion of her pregame routine.

Like moths to a light, fans from various sections at Barclays Center descended upon Clark, following her along the rail as she made her way toward the tunnel. Young kids and adults, wearing Fever and Liberty gear, called her name, hoping to be the next fan to get a selfie or autograph.

The Caitlin Clark tour has officially graduated from Big Ten arenas to the WNBA. Nearly 44,000 fans across sellouts in three different cities flocked to witness the 2024 No. 1 draft pick and NCAA Division I scoring leader take the floor for her initial professional basketball games. Scores more watched on television, including 2.1 million for Indiana's season opener Tuesday, the most-watched WNBA game since 2001.

But this chapter of Clark's journey so far has an aura of unfamiliarity compared to her storybook run at Iowa in which the Hawkeyes fell just short of winning the national championship the past two seasons. The Fever are 0-3 heading into Monday's rematch against the Connecticut Sun (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). Two of their losses were blowouts.

And individually, Clark, who never lost three consecutive games at Iowa, has had her ups and downs as she has struggled with physicality, playing with new teammates and facing better defenses. She's the fourth player in WNBA history to tally 50 points and 15 assists in her first three career games, but she has also committed 21 turnovers, the most through a player's first three games in league history.

Exacerbated by a brutal