Caitlin Clark is having a darn good season in the WNBA this year.
You might even call it incredible.
Or tremendous.
Or maybe even amazing.
But would you describe it as dominant?
WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes would not — even though the Indiana Fever rookie is averaging 19.5 points, a league-best 8.4 assists, to go with 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals a game.
“Those are hell of a numbers,” Swoopes said. “But to me, that’s not dominating.”
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Swoopes made her comments on Tuesday’s episode of the “Gil’s Arena” podcast, the same place she made other remarks that drew the scorn of Clark’s dedicated fan base months ago. Swoopes incorrectly stated that Clark broke the NCAA scoring record because she played five seasons (Clark only played four collegiate seasons). Swoopes later admitted her error and said she had apologized to Clark.
During the same February podcast appearance, Swoopes also said of the then-Iowa senior: “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. Not gonna happen.”
Swoopes, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, revisited those comments during the most recent podcast.
“I know people are like, ‘Oh, my God, you said she wouldn’t be good,’ but I didn’t say she wouldn’t be good,” Swoopes said. “What I said was I didn’t think Caitlin or Angel [Reese] would come into the league and dominate immediately, which I don’t think either of them did.”
Swoopes was the WNBA MVP in 2000, 2002 and 2005. She was asked if she considered herself to have been dominant during those seasons with the Houston Comets.
“No,” Swoopes said. “I don’t think I dominated. … I played very well, and I played very well on both sides of the ball. I scored, I rebounded, I defended. But to me, you can win MVP and not be dominant.”
Only one player is dominating the WNBA this season, Swoopes said, and that’s Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson, who has set league records in scoring and rebounds this year.
Still, Swoopes had high praise for Clark’s play, particularly since the league’s Olympic break.
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The Fever have gone 9-4 during that span and clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2016. Clark, who set an WNBA single-game record with 19 assists against the Dallas Wings on July 17, now holds the league record for most assists in a season, currently at 329 with one regular-season game remaining.
“I still don’t think she’s dominating,” Swoopes said, “but she’s a different player than she was in the first half of the season.”
She added: “I’ve never questioned if Caitlin was a good player. I think she’s a hell of a player. My thing was, no I didn’t think she would come in and dominate. I thought it would take her some time to adjust to being a professional. And to me, I think that’s exactly what she’s done.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.