Caitlin Clark has generated an unprecedented level of fanfare ever since she burst onto the scene with Iowa. Not only has she been one of the most exciting players the women's game has ever seen, she has also proven to be a winning player, transforming the Indiana Fever's fortunes and turning them into a playoff team in only her rookie year. But there continues to be a confusingly polarizing discourse surrounding Clark and where she stands among the WNBA's best players.
In particular, Sheryl Swoopes, a legend of the game, seems to be giving the Fever star the cold shoulder. Swoopes, despite being an on-air analyst, has been refusing to dive deep into how impactful Clark has been, which is not only seen in her impressive box-score numbers, but in the Fever's recent results as a team as well.
Stephen A. Smith has been one of Caitlin Clark's most ardent defenders in this saga, and he continued to hold the line for the Fever guard, even going as far as to call her an MVP candidate and to compare her to the first unanimous MVP in NBA history, Stephen Curry.
“Did you know that Caitlin Clark is also in the discussion for league MVP? We got the baby-faced assassin in men's basketball with Steph Curry. They might say that about her before all is said and done because she pulls up from the parking lot as well. This is what Caitlin Clark brings to the table,” Smith said on his eponymous show.
Smith proceeded to go on and on about how Clark has had this incredible effect on the viewership of the WNBA. Fever games, as Smith pointed out, draw more viewers than any other games, and the hype she's generating is being justified with the way Clark has been playing.
The Fever have gone 8-2 over their past 10 games, thanks in large part to what a stellar string of games Clark has had. In this stretch, Clark has averaged 23.3 points to go with 10.1 assists per contest while shooting 50 percent from the field — eliminating concerns regarding her scoring efficiency.
She still needs plenty of work in taking care of the basketball, that's for certain. But Clark's winning impact should be speaking for itself, which is what has Smith so worked up.
Caitlin Clark, Sheryl Swoopes, and the Stephen A. Smith drama, abridged
Controversy arose when Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes, on her podcast, decided to talk about the Fever and their impressive turnaround from a 0-5 start without mentioning the transformative effect Caitlin Clark has had on the team. Sure, Kelsey Mitchell has been playing exceptional basketball, especially as of late, but Clark continues to be the beating heart of everything Indiana does on offense.
This sparked a furious pushback from Stephen A. Smith. Smith called out Swoopes for, by not giving Clark her due props, “validating the speculation” that there are critics hating on the Fever guard unfairly. Swoopes then angrily responded to Smith, telling the notorious pundit that she can talk about whomever she wants on her podcast the same way Smith does on his platforms.
Swoopes, for what it's worth, showed that it's all love between her and the Fever guard. She posted on her official X account a few screenshots of her correspondence with Clark that shows that their relationship isn't fractured in any capacity.
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