Caitlin Clark's Dominance Earns Praise, With Some Caution, From WNBA Legend
Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes reacts to a 3-pointer against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Welsh-Ryan Arena on January 31, 2024 in Evanston, Illinois. Clark is now second on the NCAA women’s all-time scoring list.
Sheryl Swoopes doesn’t want to be misunderstood.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer believes Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese, currently college stars, will eventually be WNBA standouts when they reach the league, Swoopes shared during a recent appearance on the Gil’s Arena podcast with former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas. But the WNBA legend’s praise came with a slight caveat.
Swoopes—a three-time WNBA MVP, four-time champion, and six-time All-Star—offered some reservations when asked whether these All-Americans would immediately replicate their dominance at a professional level. And that point seems to have been misconstrued as some sort of dig.
“I think Angel will eventually be a good pro,” Swoopes said. “I don’t think Angel will come into the league immediately and dominate the way people think she will. And I say that for people who have never watched a WNBA game. It’s good. There’s talent—like these women can play. And because there are very few roster spots. It’s a real job. So people look at new players, whether that’s out of college, players who have been overseas, and they look at that and say, ‘Oh you’re trying to come take my job.’ Nah, it’s not going to be that easy.
“So will Caitlin Clark be a good pro? Absolutely. Will Caitlin Clark come into the WNBA and do what she’s doing right now immediately? Absolutely not.”
A portion of this conversation was posted on X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday and has drawn north of a million views. Some self-appointed social media basketball aficionados seemed to take Swoopes’ comments, particularly surrounding Clark, as the former Texas Tech sensation bad-mouthing perhaps the biggest name in college sports. Not so fast. Swoopes was simply voicing the difficulty of the WNBA, and clarified as much on Instagram Thursday, where she also wished Clark and Reese “nothing but the best.”
And while this discussion garnered some internet buzz, Clark was taking her spot alongside other basketball legends.
The reigning National Player of the Year and current basketball phenom became the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer and moved into second-place on the NCAA women’s all-time scoring list during No. 3 Iowa’s 110-74 win over Northwestern on Wednesday. A sold-out crowd of fans anxious to see Clark in person weren’t disappointed. The nation’s leading scorer this season dropped 35 points and in the process passed Jackie Stiles (Missouri State) and then Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State) on the scoring leaderboard.
Clark entered the game in fourth-place on the list, but now sits in second with 3,424 and trails only the sport’s all-time scoring leader Kelsey Plum (3,527 points.)
“The coolest thing is just the names I get to be around,” said Clark, who scored 30+ for a fifth-straight game and also dished out 10 assists. “Those are people I grew up watching, especially Brittney Griner [who Clark passed earlier this month], Kelsey Mitchell, those are really, really good players, people that are still playing our game at the very highest level, people that you watch night in and night out.
“Just special for me to be in the same area as them.”
Added Iowa coach Lisa Bluder postgame: “With this many games to go, overtaking somebody the caliber of Kelsey Mitchell is outstanding.”
Clark is about as close to a lock as one can get to be the top pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, that is if she declares and opts not to use her extra, pandemic-related year of eligibility. Reese, whose LSU team defeated Iowa in last year’s national championship game, is also considered one of the top prospects in April’s draft.
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