What NBA & WNBA Legends Actually Think of Caitlin Clark

runs into sonado and just look at that off balance going to the right doesn't matter if everyone knows whose hands it's supposed to Caitlyn Clark has the basketball World in shock that is unquestionable and while I don't expect only admiration for the future Superstar there are people who are showing a skepticism that makes absolutely no sense her absurd shot selection coupled with her dominance has made her one of the most famous athletes in World basketball and she hasn't even gone pro yet and although this has allowed her to be conceived as a player with generational potential her own professional peers seem to have a different opinion remember what the Cavaliers players were saying before they drafted LeBron Let me refresh your memory you have better players than him and his position already on our team though um his potential is probably the sky a limit for him though lebrown is just going to add add to what we need and you know just make make things a little bit easier well I think some something similar might be going on with Caitlyn Clark but on an even larger scale it's not like a team of envious people are hating on one of the best prospects in sports history because she's going to take the spotlight away from them an entire league is doing it but in the end this is just a natural part of the maturation process of a player who will likely Mark a before and after in the best professional women's basketball league I think pretty much everyone heard about what happened just a few days ago in Cleveland the final between the Iowa hawkey guys in the South Carolina Gamecocks was the most watched women's basketball game ever with almost 19 million average viewers and a peak of 24.1 Million during the last 15 minutes of the game and although Caitlyn once again fell just short of the NCAA Championship losing to a team that had a perfect season her attractive play style put women's sports back in the spotlight like never before now do you know what the player who many people consider the goat of the WNBA had to say about it well um reality is coming okay you know there's there's levels to this thing and that's just life we all went through it and you see it on the NBA side and you're going to see it on this side where you know they you look super human playing against 18yar olds but you're going to come with some grown women that been playing professional basketball for a long time not saying that it's not going to translate cuz when you're great at what you do you're just going to get better but there is going to be a transition period where you're going to have to give yourself some Grace as a rookie and uh you know it might take a little bit longer for some people now for those who don't follow the WNBA terasi is a legend her longevity and ability to score from anywhere rre havoc on the league for years and from her position of NBA royalty instead of challenging Clark to be an immediate impact player she dismissed that she might have any chance of making it at all now is it out of fear of being forgotten is it out of pure Envy that's a good question terasi has not been the first to say that it seems that that the efforts that all the players have been making for decades pushing the WNBA and its recognition are being minimized by this new trend and maybe that's what motivated her to say that this was a terrible call yes that foul that benefited Iowa and was a textbook moving screen according to terasi was a terrible call given look I get there there's objectivity but given the uniform you all wore and I'm I'm going to start the same place I just started with Andrea I don't know how you make that call with 3.9 in a one-point game I'm just curious your thoughts on that I I believe I said it in in different worlds that's a terrible call the opinion of Legends and former players became even more polarized when this happened the big three a professional three on3 league created by Ice Cube has made an unthinkable offer to the former Iowa player $5 million to participate in a league that is normally populated by former players who have played in the NBA an offer by the way that would allow Caitlyn to earn 20 times the maximum salary of the WNBA in a very different format and no I'm not exaggerating $5 million is 20 times the League's maximum salary of$ 242,000 per year and when this news came out Legends like Lexi Brown had this to say you offered the contract to a player who's not yet even in the WNBA big three does not happen during overseas season so that doesn't make sense that's true and then um for us to get like just constantly on like you can't even acknowledge the growth and how amazing the WNBA is is doing because like this happens her argument Beyond some Envy for a woman who's blazing a trail for the next generation is that quote like that is what causes the WNBA to not be able to to explode I mean according to Brown Clark getting to pocket 5 million and make record earnings for a female athlete is a Bad Thing beyond the fact that Ice Cube's offer is a completely understandable business decision that would incredibly boost the League's ratings it seems like all the former players have to show their opinion about it a player who went on to win the NCAA Championship four times Ranna Stewart had this to say a few days ago quote yeah she does need to win a title to be considered one of the greats I think so because then you're going to look 10 years back and you're going to see all the records she's broken and the points and stuff like that but anybody knows your goal when you play college basketball is to win a National Championship so you need one now Stewart's Legend is huge in college basketball to the point that many people consider her the greatest player in women's NCAA history however far from showing her admiration for what Clark was being able to accomplish she belittled her accomplishment because she wasn't able to win any NCAA championships it's completely surreal even worse though is our next example Cheryl swoops three-time MVP three-time Defensive Player of the Year and four-time WNBA Champion had this to say about the NCAA scoring record that Caitlyn Clark had just broken if it's legitimate you have to break that record in the same amount of time that that player said it so if if Kelsey Plum set that record in four years mhm well Caitlyn have broke that record in 4 years but because there's a CO year and then there's another year you know what I mean so she's already had an extra year to break that record I mean after hearing these statements well I don't know where to start first of all everyone knows that Caitlyn did not play five seasons in the NCAA she played Four which is the standard for all players to complete the college cycle and she also needed less games than her competition and not only that but Cheryl says that Clark is able to dominate in college because she's 5 years older than her competition something that couldn't be further from the truth not only did Caitlyn turn 22 this past January but as an 18-year-old she was able to average 26.6 points 5.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists with over 40% from three-point range in division 1 Clark has been dominating the NCAA since she arrived even when she was much younger than the average age of college basketball me this take was so stupid that people were quick to disagree and the former WNBA MVP had to come out to clarify her words with a take in which she only argued that it was not a race issue she didn't say anything about our lies I'm going to say this and then I want to like be done with this whole conversation so for people to comment me and say that I made those comments because I'm a racist like first of all black people can't be racist but like that's the farthest thing from my mind I mean I get it it can be easy to see everything you've done for women's sports being downplayed by a young generational star in a way it's kind of unfair but instead of supporting Clark to make this momentum become a standard for women's sports they seem to be doing the opposite you know what's actually funnier though NBA players have a completely different opinion about all this here's what Shaquille O'Neal considered by many fans to be one of the most dominant players in league history had to say about Caitlyn Clark's performance apparently you are yeah but she's incredible L to her and her family the crazy thing is I'm I'm just seeing her last year when they played LSU but she she's phenomenal I I'm going to record say she's the best female Collegiate player ever I don't think those statements were very funny to Briana Stewart but that's the reality for Shaq true or not the former Center supported the growth of women's basketball and made it clear that the WNBA could not pass up this opportunity Stephen Curry has always been an exceptional spokesperson for basketball and as has always been involved in women's sports too the fact that he agreed to participate in the Three-Point Contest with Sabrina uncu during the last All-Star game proves it an event in which the best shooter in history had a lot to lose and not much to gain and well about Clark his opinion was clear saw somebody break down the release time which is pretty much identical to mine uh and then her just confidence I you you can't help but watch when she plays where she shoots from the range the confidence the flare like she's a performer um it's crazy though just cuz her shot is it's like that it's at that level instead of minimizing the comparisons to her Curry praised her ability to shoot from anywhere on the court fueling this comparison meanwhile Luca donic one of the NBA's most visible faces had this to say about the Iowa player amazing I saw the you said 41 almost triple though yeah he shooting light B that ball fly I watched a little bit then I had to do some tment so but it was a I watch the first half but she got to go in the second half so I didn't watch that dides she remind you of you at all I mean she's kind of got that she got a it's more Steph Curry the woman Steph Curry okay all right man literally said that Caitlyn shoots better than him he shooting let that that ball fly uh I watched a little bit uh but then I had to do some treatment so but it was amaz I watched the first half but she got to go in the second half so I didn't watch that that it's more Steph Curry or Lebron James one of the NBA's top goat candidates who during the NCAA Women's Championship final posted this on his social [Music] media even Stephen A Smith one of the most critical journalists in the basketball world had time to show his opinion about the hawkey guard on his program I ain't seen no woman in in college basketball that shoots like Caitlyn claw I ain't seen it now you that school I love what she did Allstar Weekend and she tied all the men outside of Steph Curry okay I 26 I mean she was great she was great she was great but I ain't never seen any woman yeah in college basketball shoot the basketball like Caitlyn Clark but why is this happening why are NBA players able to show their admiration for Clark and realize what she can do for women's sports but WNBA players or former WNBA players are unable to recognize her greatness and potential well the answer might be simpler than it seems you see the NBA is a league with a lot of history a more mature product that has gone through numerous eras and dominated by many players over time this generational replacement is something NBA players are used to and have seen happen since they were young MJ Shaq Kobe LeBron even wenyama today they're all players whose greatness has influenced the evolution of the game and whose hype served to maintain their momentum for years and push the league even further in short they know what the arrival of a generational Prospect means and they're able to appreciate it meanwhile the WNBA is a much newer product and hasn't finished exploding yet players are used to seeing game-changing athletes in the NBA but they're not used to a player being able to change the sport on her own Caitlyn Clark's influence is unrivaled in the history of women's sports and the opportunity she has to make the WNBA explode may be unique in history while some women athletes have been able to grasp it and appreciate what the Iowa guard may end up doing for women's sports others have yet to realize it or can't bring themselves to admit it but rest assured time will prove that Clark is a generational Talent capable of elevating the entire Sport with power and changing the game forever all right that's it for this one I hope you enjoyed it let us know down in the comments like subscribe share and we'll see you in the next one thanks for watching

Channel: Players Unlimited - Basketball

Views: 163,646

Keywords: Caitlin Clark, NBA, WNBA

Id: v8Hq5eHnRHw

Length: 13min 11sec (791 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 15 2024