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Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter sparked outrage when she took a cheap shot at Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark during Saturday's hard-fought showdown. Carter wasn't initially assessed a flagrant foul for the unnecessary play but was retroactively given one, while Angel Reese and the Sky were both fined for not following WNBA media protocols after a 71-70 loss.
Carter did face the press after the drama-filled game, but she didn't want to talk about Clark. However, the Sky guard has had plenty to say on social media in the aftermath of the game. Carter hinted at one of the reasons behind her foul on Clark and also sent a message to all the people hating on her for what happened.
Perhaps most notably, Carter took a jab at Clark's game in a reply on Threads: “Besides three point shooting what does she bring to the table man?”
“Besides three point shooting what does she bring to the table man?”
Chennedy Carter on Caitlin Clark 😳 pic.twitter.com/GUMfY3yBqf
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 2, 2024
This adds even more spice to this potential budding rivalry. Clark is of course known for her long-range 3-point shooting, but she's also a phenomenal passer and is already making history for her well-rounded stat lines in the WNBA. The Fever star is averaging 16.9 points, 6.5 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals and a block per game. While Clark's shooting percentages aren't where she'd like them to be (37.6% overall and 31.0% from 3-point range) and turnovers have been a problem (5.6 per game), she's already showing she's more than just a prolific shooter.
Even so, Carter isn't interested in backing down.
Chennedy Carter praises Angel Reese
The Angel Reese vs. Caitlin Clark rivalry became a thing during the last few years while they starred in college, and now we're already seeing it carrying over into the WNBA. After Chennedy Carter's hard foul on Clark, Reese seemed to celebrate the hit.
In another Threads reply, Carter showed her appreciation for Reese's response: “my dawg fasho, got all my teammates.”
Reese delivered her own little message to Clark during the game, though the Fever star embellished the contact and nothing came of it between the two young stars.
Caitlin Clark taking hard hits
One of the narratives going around the WNBA to start this season has been that players are out to get Caitlin Clark with extra-physical play. This is allegedly in response to all the hype Clark has gotten despite not having any real success in the league yet. Diana Taurasi initially came under fire for some critical comments, and now we've seen several incidents like what happened Saturday.
Fever head coach Christie Sides called the opponent conduct against Clark “unacceptable” and asked the WNBA to do something about it. To her credit, Clark understands that this kind of thing often comes with the territory and she's just going to have to play through it.
Debate has raged about what's going on with Clark, with many calling out these cheap shots while others are saying it's just part of being a hyped superstar and that it will help build rivalries and storylines for the league. It brings back memories of The Jordan Rules from back in the 1980s and '90s, when the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons constantly went hard after Michael Jordan.
One common refrain is Clark's teammates need to stand up for her and have her back. Draymond Green even called for Indiana to “invest in an enforcer” to protect Clark from hard fouls like the one she took Saturday.
This Caitlin Clark drama will be a must-watch storyline as the season continues. Clark will do her best to let her game do the talking and to prove Carter's comments wrong.
