Simone Biles picked a good night to attend her first WNBA game.
Weeks after winning three gold medals and a silver at the Paris Olympics, the U.S. gymnastics great was on hand Wednesday to see Caitlin Clark break the league rookie record for three-pointers in a season as the Indiana Fever defeated the Connecticut Sun 84-80 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
“EVERYONE WATCHES WOMENS SPORTS,” Biles wrote on X after the game. “so happy to be able to go support! my first of many WNBA games.”
U.S. sprinter Gabby Thomas, who also won three gold medals in Paris, was there as well. She echoed Biles’ sentiments on X.
“First WNBA game of many!” Thomas wrote. “Had so much fun supporting these stars.”
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The two Olympians met with the players after the game.
“The squad was ecstatic to meet Simone Biles and Gabby Thomas after our win,” the Fever posted on X, along with a video of player reactions that more than supported the statement.
In the video, Biles tells the players: “You got so excited. Oh, my God. It’s like usually the boys will just pass and be like, ‘Yo.’ But you’re so excited, that was so cool.”
Clark posted a portion of that video in her Instagram Stories, with the caption “lemme fan girl real quick.” She also put four heart emojis under a video Biles had posted of one of Clark’s three three-pointers in the game.
All of that excitement capped a big night for Clark, who finished with 19 points, five points and five rebounds and made WNBA history in the first quarter with her first three-pointer of the game.
With that shot, Clark passed the single-season three-point rookie record of 85, set by Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard in 2022. The overall WNBA record in that category is held by New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, who sank 128 three-pointers a year ago.
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Clark already holds the rookie record for assists in a season, which currently stands at 252, and is on pace to break the overall league record of 316, set by Connecticut’s Alyssa Thomas last season.
Unlike Biles and Thomas, Clark did not represent the U.S. in Paris this summer, although one selection committee member said during the Olympics that Clark may have made the cut had the decision been made later in the WNBA season.
“If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team, because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people,” South Carolina coach and four-time gold medalist Dawn Staley said during NBC’s Olympics coverage earlier this month.
“[She’s] shooting the ball extremely well, I mean she is an elite passer, she’s just got a great basketball IQ, and she’s a little more seasoned in the pro game than she was two months ago.”
After Wednesday, Clark has two more Olympians who can speak on her behalf.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Source Agencies
