WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes has often made headlines for her critical comments about Caitlin Clark, despite Clark’s meteoric rise in women’s basketball. Swoopes, a three-time WNBA MVP and one of the league’s all-time greats, hasn’t shied away from voicing her opinions, sparking controversy and debate among fans.
Swoopes, who made history as the first player signed in the WNBA, transitioned into a coaching and analyst role after her playing career. It’s in this capacity that she has frequently shared her critiques of Caitlin Clark, drawing significant attention from the basketball community.
Even during the WNBA preseason, Swoopes’ comments about Clark didn’t go unnoticed. Here are five notable instances where Sheryl Swoopes took aim at Caitlin Clark:
1. Downplaying Clark Breaking Kelsey Plum’s Record
During an appearance on Gilbert Arenas’ “Gil’s Arena” show in January, Swoopes criticized Caitlin Clark as she neared Kelsey Plum’s NCAA scoring record.
“I say this: yes, records are made and set to be broken. But if you’re going to break a record…to me, if it’s legitimate, you have to break that record in the same amount of time that the player set it, right? So if Kelsey Plum set that record in four years, well, Caitlin should have broken that record in four years,” Swoopes said.
“But because there’s a COVID year and then there’s another year, you know what I mean. So she’s already had an extra year to break that record. So is it truly a broken record?”
However, Swoopes’ claim was incorrect. Plum scored 3,527 points in 139 games, while Clark broke the record in just 126 games.
2. Misrepresenting Clark’s Age
Swoopes inaccurately suggested that Clark was significantly older than her NCAA competitors.
“But you have a 25-year-old playing against 20-year-olds. Like you should be killing them because you’ve been doing it a lot longer than they have,” she remarked.
This claim was misleading, as Clark is not 25 years old.
3. Exaggerating Clark’s Shooting Numbers
On the same podcast, Swoopes exaggerated the number of shots Clark takes per game.
“Caitlin Clark right now probably takes about 40 shots a game,” Swoopes claimed. “I said that because when she comes to the league, regardless of what team she goes to that has vets on that team, she’s probably ain’t gonna get 40 shots a game.”
In reality, Clark does not take nearly that many shots per game.
4. Calling Clark a ‘Bully’ for Pushing Off
Swoopes also criticized Clark’s playing style, accusing her of frequently pushing off defenders.
“I mean if you want to talk about bullies, we can talk about each time Caitlin has the ball she pushes off,” she said.
5. Downplaying Clark’s Impact on the Indiana Fever
On her podcast “Queens of the Court,” Swoopes questioned Caitlin Clark’s influence on the Indiana Fever, arguing the team was strong without her.
“Is Indiana in the playoffs right now, without Caitlin?…When you look at the overall team, like the pieces that they have, without question, Indiana has better players than Chicago from top to bottom. No doubt about it,” Swoopes commented.
However, according to WNBA advanced stats, the Fever’s offensive rating is 103.6 with Clark on the floor and drops to 93.9 without her. Clark is averaging 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and a league-leading 8.2 assists this season. She also set the single-game record for assists (19) and recorded the first rookie triple-double in WNBA history.
