Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever wears a shirt honoring Maya Moore as she warms up before the game against the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center on August 24, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Moore's jersey will be retried by the Lynx after the game.
Clark met one of her basketball heroes as a 10-year-old – a turning point in her life (Image: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark’s 10-second interaction with women’s basketball icon Maya Moore is one she claims “changed her life”.

The Indiana Fever guard has emerged as one of the sport’s rising talents, making her claim to fame as a record-breaker for the Iowa Hawkeyes in her college days. The 22-year-old is the NCAA Division One all-time leading scorer and was a two-time national player of the year with the Hawkeyes, and has continued her successes into her WNBA career this year.

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However, while the popularity the Rookie of the Year has brought to the sport of women’s basketball is unrivaled, there was one player she credits with kickstarting her love for the court. Back in 2012, a then-10-year-old Clark travelled with her family to Minneapolis to watch Moore play for the Minnesota Lynx against Seattle Storm – and this was the moment that changed her young life for the better.

Moore could be regarded as an earlier version of Clark in the sport, with her ability to pass, shoot and dribble effectively landing her two undefeated seasons, four Final Four places and two national championships with college team UConn.

Following this, she joined the Minnesota Lynx and went on an incredible run in the sport, winning four WNBA championships, various MVP titles and also won two Olympic gold medals with USA Basketball in 2012 and 2016.

Moore’s brush with Clark came when the Iowa-born fan travelled three hours from Des Moines to Minneapolis to watch the hall-of-famer play in a WNBA game.