Thursday was Caitlin Clark's first time playing at Chase Center when her Indiana Fever faced the Valkyries, but she was all too familiar with the basketball history in the building and the greater Bay Area region.
As Clark and the Fever wrapped up morning shootaround Thursday, video showed her shouting, "Curry!" before sinking a 3-pointer. Clark later discussed that moment during a pregame media availability when she was asked if she hopes she'll get a friendly shooter's bounce given the kind of success players such as Steph Curry have had in the arena.
"I hope so. It's my first time here," Clark said. "I told Kate [Martin] this after shootaround: this arena is absolutely incredible. So I'm excited to play here."
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SIGN UP HERE Clark further detailed her longtime appreciation for Curry and what he's done for the game of basketball, particularly for shooters like herself.
"I grew up watching Steph," Clark said. "To me, he's one of the greatest basketball players of all time. But I was also a kid that grew up getting to watch him and I think he's really changed the way basketball is being played. Maybe at times, kids shouldn't always go up and chuck a bunch of threes, but that's what makes the game so exciting.
"And what he's been able to do throughout his career, he's really changed basketball. Everybody that's ever met him knows how good of a person he is, too. So it's cool to be here. He's somebody I certainly idolize."
It's no secret that Clark, the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year and one of the greatest 3-point shooters in the league, has taken several pages out of Curry's book.
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But her Chase Center debut didn't live up to her expectations, as she struggled to shoot the ball in Indiana's late collapse to Golden State on Thursday. Clark finished with just 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field and 0 of 7 from 3-point range, with seven rebounds and nine assists in 34 minutes.
But hey, even the best have an occasional "off night." And if she's anything like her idol Curry, the bounce back will be personal.