The WNBA's number-one draft pick, Caitlin Clark, was cheered on by more than 13,000 spectators as she made her first appearance at home for the Indiana Fever in a preseason game. 

The Fever triumphed 83-80 over the Atlanta Dream, with Clark — regarded as one of the greatest college players of all time following a decorated career with the University of Iowa — posting 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 31 minutes on court.

A late-arriving but louder-than-usual crowd in Indianapolis roared during Clark's official introduction to Fever fans and again when she made her first basket, a lay-up with 7:00 left in the first quarter.

The cheers grew when she completed a three-point play a few minutes later and hit a crescendo when she finally made a long three-pointer late in the third quarter.

"It was a lot of fun, I thought they were loud, I thought they were into it. It was fun to see," Clark said following her home debut.

"This is a preseason game on a Thursday night (local time) and there's 13,000 people here.

"I think that just shows you what it's going to be like for us all season. It's going to help us."

The crowd certainly made a difference as Clark helped the Fever rally from an early double-digit deficit following last week's preseason opening loss at Dallas.

Officially, the attendance came in at 13,028 — nearly three times larger than the slightly more than 4,000 per game Indiana averaged for its 20 regular-season home games in 2023.

For Clark, it has been a quick transition from playing college basketball a month ago.

Meanwhile, the curiosity surrounding Clark has some opponents moving games to larger venues to accommodate ticket sales and a team that has not been to the play-offs since 2016 will now have 36 of its 40 regular-season fixtures on national television.

"For me, this is the best part of it," Clark said.

"You've got to go out and compete every single night and if one night is not good for us, you have an opportunity to come back a couple days later and respond.

"I think this group will be ready [for the regular season] and everybody's excited."

The Fever open the regular season against the Connecticut Sun in Montville on Wednesday (AEST).

AP