Caitlin Clark fans surprise Indiana Fever teammate with gesture

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, left, talks with teammate guard Erica Wheeler before a WNBA basketball game against the New York Liberty, Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)AP

By

Joey Chandler | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Indiana Fever guard Erica Wheeler was pleasantly surprised while dining out in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.

When Wheeler asked for the check, she learned that some Caitlin Clark fans from Iowa had spotted the WNBA star eating and paid for her meal. The Fever play their final regular season game on Thursday night against the Washington Mystics.

THIS WNBA legend makes a bold claim about Caitlin Clark’s treatment by the league’s defenses!THIS WNBA legend makes a bold claim about Caitlin Clark’s treatment by the league’s defenses!

She posted about the kind gesture on X:

“Nahhh yall Iowa fans are different,” she wrote.

“I am getting dinner at this restaurant here in DC and I go to ask for my check, the waiter said “it’s already taken cared of from a fan from Iowa State. They said kick ass tomorrow. Well thankkkkk youuuuu!”

Wheeler, a 2013 Rutgers graduate, is in her 10th season in the WNBA and quickly embraced her role as Clark’s “big sister” after the No. 1 draft pick arrived in Indianapolis.

“I think oftentimes people think because a player is in the same position you can’t reach out, but for me, it is more so I am a good person before basketball player,” Wheeler told NJ Advance Media in May at the Brooklyn Barclays Center.

“For me, I felt it was necessary to reach out to her as a big sister and teammate. She don’t know what she don’t know coming into this league, so I just wanted her to know that walking into this league and walking into our team, it shouldn’t be heavy. She should be excited about it.”

The former Iowa star went on to have an impressive rookie season and helped lead the Fever to the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Clark fans took notice of Wheeler’s support throughout the regular season.

“Not to get too mushy. But the things you have done for CC this year. Dinner is the least thing we can do for you,” X user CC Report wrote.

In 2019, Wheeler became the first undrafted player in league history to earn All-Star Game MVP honors. During her time at Rutgers, she scored 1,027 career points and ranked third in program history in 3-pointers with 157.

The WNBA playoffs begin on Sunday, and the Fever’s first round opponent has yet to be determined.