BRITTNEY Griner has sent a warning to fellow No. 1 overall WNBA pick and new Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.

The ex-Iowa standout is set to make her official professional basketball debut on Tuesday in a 2024 season-opener against the Connecticut Sun on May 14.

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Clark will make her official Indiana Fever debut in the WNBA on May 14Credit: Getty
And Griner, 33, told Clark, 22, she will experience some growing pains on the pro level.

In an interview with People, the Phoenix Mercury star recalled she needed to work on her strength and “lock in a little more” after her college basketball career ended.

“It’s different when you come from college to the pros,” the 6-foot-9 center said.

“I went from top dog to my numbers going down a bit.

“You’re going up against grown women. This is how they feed their families.

“This is not just for the love of the [game]. This is their livelihood.”

At the same time, Griner predicted that, overall, Clark would be “fine” in the WNBA.

The nine-time All-Star expressed her excitement over the 2024 draft class coming to the league.

“The hype that Caitlin – and some others have right now – is amazing for the league,” Griner said.

“There’s good talent coming in.”

Clark went 1-1 in her first WNBA preseason with the Fever.

Indiana beat the Atlanta Dream 83-80 in the former Hawkeyes superstar’s home debut on Thursday.

The 6-foot guard logged 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and a block in front of a sold-out crowd at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

“It was a lot of fun, I thought they were loud, I thought they were into it. It was fun to see,” Clark said afterward.

Caitlin Clark fever

CAITLIN Clark’s impact was already felt by the WNBA even before she was drafted.

The Iowa college superstar went No. 1 overall to the Indiana Fever in a surprise to absolutely nobody.

The Indiana Fever had 36 of their 40 games in the 2024 season scheduled for national TV – up from 22 last year.

Teams also moved their games against the Fever to bigger arenas to cater for the extra ticket demand.

Clark helped the NCAA draw 18.9 million viewers for the women’s championship game, more than the 14.8 million who watched the men’s decider.

She has also already signed a deal with Nike worth upwards of $20 million.

“This is a preseason game on a Thursday night 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.”

Clark added she wasn’t happy with her shooting after going 4-for-12 (33.3%) from the field.

“I don’t think I was that effective, honestly,” she said.

“I thought more than anything I did a really good job of passing the ball, finding my teammates.

“Obviously, I would have liked to have made a couple more threes, but sometimes that’s how you shoot it.”