Since joining the WNBA, Caitlin Clark has been a polarizing figure. People either think she will completely change the game or that she’s far too overrated. Sheryl Swoopes has not shied away from sharing her thoughts.
Recently, on Gilbert Aranes’s podcast, Swoopes explained that she believes many of Clark’s teammates want out of Indiana because of all the media attention the team receives, whether good or bad.
“There’s a lot of other [expletive] going on that players are like, ‘This ain’t where I want to be.’ … It’s a lot,” Swoopes said. “So you have players that are very significant on this Indiana Fever team that are like, this ain’t where I want to be.”
She also talks about when the Fever started 1-8 and star forward Aliyah Boston deleted social media after getting a lot of hate.
“So what happens when Aliyah ain’t playing well again?” Swoopes continued. “So, as a player, do you want to continue to stay in a situation where you keep yourself vulnerable to all of the hate that you know is going to come to you if you’re not playing the way everyone thinks you should be playing?”’
Of course, chemistry is a huge aspect of every team sport, so if one player comes in and messes things up, other players could become very hostile.
Swoopes Also Said Caitlin Clark Is Not Dominant
Swoopes also received harsh criticism for claiming that Clark is not a dominating force within the WNBA.
Many people point out that Clark averages 19.5 points per game, 8.4 assists per game, and 5.7 rebounds.
In one of Swoopes’s best seasons in 2000, when she won MVP, she averaged 20.7 PPG, 3.8 APG, and 6.3 RPG. Those numbers are extremely close to what Clark is now doing as a rookie.
