The Pointer wears Prada: Caitlin Clark stuns at WNBA draft

Caitlin Clark has been drafted in the WNBA in an enviable designer look.

The 22-year-old showed up to the Brooklyn Academy of Music for WNBA draft on Monday 15 April dressed completely in the brand Prada, where she was announced as the number one pick for the Indiana Fever.

For the occasion, Clark wore a Prada double white satin shirt and skirt. The former Iowa Hawkeyes player also unbuttoned her top to reveal an embroidered rhinestone mesh top underneath. Clark traded in her sneakers for black brushed leather slingback pumps. She accessorised with a black Galleria handbag, and acetate sunglasses.

While walking the red carpet prior to the draft, the basketball player told GQ Sports how much she loves the brand. “I love Prada. I think Prada is very me,” she told the outlet. “Prada’s never dressed a WNBA player or an NBA player for the draft, so it’s very fun.”

Stylist Adri Zgirdea Toth toldMarie Claire that she coordinated Clark’s look.

“Dressing an athlete for the draft is a first for Prada, and this is obviously a first for Caitlin, too. Both are at the forefront of what they do — it’s almost too perfect,” Toth said.

In an interview after taking the stage at New York City’s Brooklyn Academy of Music to accept her new jersey, Clark told ESPN she was “grateful” to be entering the WNBA, after foregoing her fifth year of college eligibility to enter the draft.

“I’ve dreamed of this moment since I was in second grade,” the Iowa native said. “It’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of ups and downs, but more than anything I’m just trying to soak it in.”

“I told my mom before this, ‘I earned it,’ and that’s why I’m so proud of it,” she added.

Throughout her last college basketball season, Clark went on to receive multiple awards for her skills on the court, including the Women’s Basketball Superstar and National Player of the Year, making her one of the most successful players in the NCAA.

In February, Clark took to Instagram to share the news that she would be entering the draft. “It is impossible to fully express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me during my time at Iowa,” she wrote in her post. “My teammates, who made the last four years the best; my coaches, trainers, and staff who always let me be me; Hawkeye fans who filled Carver every night; and everyone who came out to support us across the country, especially young kids.”

Along with being the NCAA all-time leading scorer, Clark is also the first D1 player to “record 3,700+ points, 1,000+ assists, and 850+ rebounds in a career”. When the Hawkeyes won the 2023 Gulf Coast Showcase this past November, Clark was named the Tournament MVP.

Throughout Clark’s senior year at the University of Iowa, there’s been an increase of viewers tuning in for the games. As noted by the NCAA, the 2023 national championship game, which saw the Hawkeyes play against LSU’s Tigers, had an average of nearly 10 million viewers, which was a 103 per cent increase from the 2022 women’s championship.

Iowa’s games have been shown on multiple sports networks this season, including ESPN, Fox, and NBC. NCAA also reported that when one of Hawkeye’s games went into overtime, before Ohio State’s loss, there were an average of 1.93m viewers watching the game across NBC and Peacock. In addition, the game saw a peak in viewership during overtime, with 3.9m viewers across those networks.