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Los Angeles Sparks head coach Curt Miller is the latest to give rookie phenom Caitlin Clark her flowers. Clark posted another historic triple-double that gave the Indiana Fever their sixth-straight victory. Following the game, Miller embraced what Clark has brought to the WNBA and who he sees most in her game.
“She's really special, I don't have a lot of comps,” Miller said, via Jacob Rude of SB Nation. “I have different breakdowns of people within her game, but she has it all. When Sue Bird was in her prime, Sue Bird played with incredible pace. One of the things that probably didn't get talked about enough is how fast Sue Bird was when she was in her prime. I got to coach Becky Hammon when she was in college and Becky Hammon had such a unique ability to put the ball in the basket. When she got open and got any kind of space, you just counted it.”
Clark has been sensational since returning from the Olympic break. She took home the Rookie of the Month award twice, in addition to winning the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award for the second consecutive week. The rookie averaged 24.3 points and nine assists per game in four wins for the Fever. They also post an impressive 16-8 record since starting the season 1-8.
Sparks coach explains Caitlin Clark resemblance to Sue Bird, Becky Hammon
In regards to three-point shooting, Clark draws a close comparison to Hammon. While Clark has shot a whopping 8.7 attempts per game, Hammon had similar numbers. She posted 11 seasons with four or more threes attempted. Both hit a plethora of threes, but Clark might be in a league of her own. The Iowa standout is hitting 47.1% of her threes as unassisted. Essentially, she's creating all of her own looks from beyond-the-arc.
It's not only the three-point shooting from the Fever rookie that makes her great. It's the passing too. She secured the most double-doubles by a guard in a single season. Also, Clark leads the WNBA with 8.4 assists. As Miller mentioned the resemblance of Bird, it's clearly evident. Although both are exceptional passers, both play with an incredible pace. Bird had a unique ability to dictate how the defense played.
She took such care of the ball, only averaging her highest turnovers per game during her rookie year. Despite the criticism of Clark's 5.5 turnovers, like Bird, it's only her rookie season. There's more room to grow and the Sparks coach recognizes the beauty of having her in the WNBA.
“She's a special player and we're really, really fortunate to have her in our league,” Miller said.
Clark and the Fever are in action next on Saturday night against the Minnesota Lynx.
