Caitlin Clark makes biggest critic eat her words as WNBA icon performs huge U-turn
Caitlin Clark has won over even her most bitter foes after an incredible rookie WNBA season.
Caitlin Clark has won over many new fans this season. (Image: Getty.)
Caitlin Clark earned rare praise from Sheryl Swoopes after being crowned WNBA Rookie of the Year with 66 out of 67 possible votes.
A near-unanimous victory came for the Indiana Fever star after gripping the nation in her first professional season, though not everyone was expecting her immediate success out of the University of Iowa.
Swoopes, a four-time WNBA champion and three-time MVP, first raised eyebrows regarding Clark in March when she claimed that the Iowa native’s NCAA D1 scoring record “wasn’t legitimate” because she was ‘a 25-year-old player in her fifth year’.
“I’m gonna shout out to Lexie Hull. I’m a big Lexie Hull fan. Lexie Hull shot the leather off the ball in their game against Seattle. Kelsey Mitchell is just stroking; she’s just shooting the basketball. Aliyah Boston, almost a triple-double…If Indiana continues to play the way they’re playing, like this, they too are going to move up in the standings.”
Sheryl Swoopes has seemingly made a big U-turn over her Caitlin Clark opinion. (Image: Getty)
That was despite Clark going on average 19.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 41.7 per cent for the field for the season on her way to being crowned the league’s top rookie.
And it appears that despite bouncing out of the play-offs in the first round to the Connecticut Sun, Clark has managed to win over Swoopes with a rare piece of praise.
“I just thought what Caitlin was able to do coming into the league this season… she was just crazy,” Swoopes admitted. “Just shooting the basketball, her ability to put the ball where it needs to be when it needed to be there.”
Just last month, Swoopes played down the suggestion that Clark had been “dominating” the league, but has now gone back on those words and her previous criticism, aligning herself with Rookie of the Year voters.
However, it may be some time before supporters get to see Clark back out on the court. After years of non-stop basketball, she is taking some time away from the sport during the off-season.
There had been hope that she would join the likes of Angel Reese and compete in the three-on-three ‘Unrivalled League’ co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Colliers. But instead, she is taking a break and playing golf in her downtime.
