"Caitlin Clark ran her outta town"- WNBA fans shocked over Temi Fagbenle leaving Fever to join Valkyrie post-expansion draft

Caitlin Clark lost a teammate to the Indiana Fever when Temi Fagbenle was selected by the Golden State Valkyries in Friday's expansion draft. WNBA fans were taken aback by the Fever's decision not to protect their backup center in the draft.

As per expansion draft rules, the Valkyries were allowed to select one player contract or negotiating rights from each of the current 12 teams. They chose Fagbenle along with 10 other players, opting not to select anyone from the Seattle Storm.

Many fans were surprised the Fever let go of Fagbenle, with some suggesting that her production—averaging 6.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per game — was no longer needed with Caitlin Clark on the team.

“Damn, Caitlin Clark ran her outta town,” one X (formerly Twitter) user said.

“💔so exciting to watch her chemistry with CC,” another said.

“I think we need bigs that can shoot is their reasoning! And Temi is 33 yo! Gonna miss her though😢😢,” another said.

“Loved her defense and energy. Now the Fever can get younger and add another great defender on the team. I feel a big trade is in the works,” another fan added.

Under expansion draft rules, teams have the option to protect certain players, but these selections are kept private, leading fans to speculate on which players the Fever did protect.

“BAD decision to not protect Temi. Boo Hiss,” one said.

“I’m so confused by this! How was Temi not protected?! Temi you will be missed!!!” another added.

Caitlin Clark’s former Iowa teammate also headed to Golden State

Caitlin Clark's former Iowa Hawkeyes teammate Kate Martin entered the WNBA alongside her, but she was drafted by the Las Vegas Aces. Martin saw limited playtime in her rookie year, averaging just 2.6 points in 11.5 minutes per game.

The Aces chose not to protect Martin in the draft, and she was selected by the Valkyries.

“I'm really excited,” Martin said during the draft program. “This league is all about opportunity, you just need one shot… I'm very thankful for the Aces and everything I got to learn there, but I'm really excited for this new beginning and to build something from the ground up here with the Valkyries.”

The full list of players the Valkyries drafted is as follows:

• Atlanta Dream: Iliana Rupert (C)
• Chicago Sky: María Conde (F)
• Connecticut Sun: Veronica Burton (G)
• Dallas Wings: Carla Leite (G)
• Indiana Fever: Temi Fagbenle (C)
• Las Vegas Aces: Kate Martin (G)
• Los Angeles Sparks: Stephanie Talbot (F)
• Minnesota Lynx: Cecilia Zandalasini (F)
• New York Liberty: Kayla Thornton (F)
• Phoenix Mercury: Monique Billings (F)
• Washington Mystics: Julie Vanloo (G)