@ESPNInsights In Caitlin's first 10 games as a rookie she scored 169 points and had 151 assists. At just 2 points for assists (could be more for 3s) Caitlin accounted for 471 points, which far surpasses Paige's alleged record. Also, her first 11 games were played in 19 days; there's that too.
Olivia Miles receiving her flowers (literally) after winning Rookie of the Month 💐
The rook averaged 15.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 5.9 APG in May!
GSV-MIN | Prime Video | 2026 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup | @coinbase
Tap to watch: https://t.co/s1gKL6rOlf
@UnderdogWNBA Only 3.1 points by opponents off of Clark's TOs as well. Just 29% of opponents points off of TOs against the Fever. Crying TOs isn't the flex you think it is.
@FrvshPrinc3@jani__21 😅😅 Why in the hell would my ego be hurt by someone I don't know, don't care about, and doesn't make a difference to me? Maybe that stuff matters to you, but not me sonny. Go back to playing in the street until the lights come on.
@HDTHEAGENCY@Code_E_Banx And Bird was never the top 1 or probably even 2 players on her team either. Championships are team awards that 12 players win every year. BTW Caitlin has 4 FIBA gold medals and two FIBA MVPs. Don't act like she's a loser.
@Adrienne2012@prettygirle2004 Sophie said they had more schemes last year, not that they tried them this year. She said they can't execute it because if 3 get it but 2 don't (shoulder shrug). Let's also not forget 8 of 12 players have played under White as head coach before. So this isn't new.
@TooManyGimmicks@jani__21 At least those stats look more impressive than windmill defense where all I do is run around and wave my arms in a circle without stopping the offensive player from doing what they want. That comes from watching the games and not a box score.
@FrvshPrinc3@jani__21 And I can tell you glaze Azzi's defense because what she mostly does is running around really fast circling her arms in the air like a windmill without really impeding the offensive player from doing what they want.
I am not linking the article because I have no interest in rewarding race-bait with traffic.
But I am absolutely here to set the record straight and be a loud voice against racism of any kind.
But anyone who wants to read it can go find it and see exactly what happens when legitimate basketball criticism gets buried under a deeply racialized attack on Caitlin Clark, her fans, and the people who recognize her impact.
But since apparently people are allowed to publish racist, non-basketball attacks on Caitlin Clark and pretend they are serious sports analysis, I thought I would correct the record.
Not as someone who thinks Caitlin is perfect.
She is not.
She turns the ball over too much at times.
She has rough shooting nights.
She can be targeted defensively.
She gets visibly frustrated.
She still has to grow as a professional guard.
All fair.
All basketball.
But this article is not really about basketball.
It is about race.
The author does not simply argue that Caitlin Clark has flaws. That would be normal. Every great young player has flaws.
He argues that Caitlin’s rise is built on whiteness, entitlement, media protection, and a fan base supposedly driven by resentment rather than basketball.
That is not analysis.
That is racial grievance dressed up in sports language.
And it deserves to be called out.
Because here is the problem with that argument:
Caitlin Clark was not manufactured by the WNBA.
She was not invented by Nike.
She was not created by television executives.
She became impossible to ignore because people watched her play basketball and could not look away.
The range was real.
The passing was real.
The vision was real.
The pace was real.
The shot-making was real.
The creativity was real.
The gravity was real.
The impact was real.
Caitlin Clark became the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer with 3,951 career points.
She won national player of the year awards.
She helped turn Iowa games into national television events.
She entered the WNBA and immediately became one of the biggest business drivers the league has ever seen.
In 2024, the WNBA had its most-watched regular season in 24 years, its highest attendance in 22 years, and record merchandise sales.
This year, Caitlin became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 500 career assists, doing it in 59 games.
Those are not myths.
Those are facts.
So yes, criticize the turnovers.
Criticize the defense.
Criticize the shot selection.
Criticize the bad games.
Criticize the reactions.
But do not insult everyone’s intelligence by pretending her popularity is some empty racial hallucination.
That is where the author loses the plot.
A player can be imperfect and still be generational.
A player can struggle and still have gravity.
A player can have bad nights and still change the economics of a league.
A player can need development and still be the most important player in the sport’s growth.
Those things can all be true at the same time.
That is called sports.
What this article does is different.
It takes legitimate basketball criticisms and buries them under race.
It takes a young player’s flaws and turns them into a racial indictment.
It takes fans who enjoy her style of play and paints them as a grievance movement.
It takes the most obvious basketball and business phenomenon women’s basketball has seen in years and reduces it to identity politics.
That is not brave.
That is lazy.
And yes, when you reduce an athlete’s talent, popularity, fan base, and value primarily to skin color, that is racist.
I do not care which direction it comes from.
If your standard changes depending on which race is being attacked, you do not oppose racism.
You just want permission to use it.
Caitlin Clark does not need to be protected from criticism.
She needs to be protected from dishonest criticism.
There is a difference.
If you want to say she needs to reduce turnovers, fine.
If you want to say she needs to defend better, fine.
If you want to say she needs to manage her emotions better, fine.
If you want to say she has not yet earned a professional GOAT conversation, fine.
Those are basketball arguments.
But if your argument is that Caitlin Clark is a manufactured symbol of white entitlement, then you are not breaking down basketball.
You are proving why this conversation has become so poisoned.
Because millions of people did not start watching Caitlin Clark because they were handed a racial assignment.
They watched because she made basketball exciting.
Deep threes.
Hit-ahead passes.
Court vision.
Swagger.
Pace.
Creativity.
Risk.
Emotion.
A style of play that made people stop scrolling and pay attention.
That does not mean other great players should be ignored.
A’ja Wilson is great.
Breanna Stewart is great.
Napheesa Collier is great.
Paige Bueckers is great.
Aliyah Boston is great.
JuJu Watkins is coming.
Women’s basketball has elite talent everywhere.
But elevating Caitlin Clark does not erase them.
And recognizing Caitlin’s impact does not require insulting theirs.
That is another false argument.
The truth is simple:
Caitlin Clark did not damage women’s basketball.
She expanded the audience.
She brought new fans.
She raised the stakes.
She forced the WNBA into mainstream scrutiny.
She made people care who had never cared before.
And now that the spotlight is brighter, some people are furious that the player who brought it does not fit the story they wanted to tell.
That is what this article really reveals.
Not Caitlin’s “unmasking.”
The author’s resentment.
Because Caitlin Clark is not perfect.
But she is not a fraud.
She is not a myth.
She is not white mediocrity.
She is a generational basketball talent with real flaws, real growth ahead, and a real impact that cannot be erased by racialized insults disguised as commentary.
So let’s correct the record.
Basketball criticism is fair.
Racist framing is not.
Caitlin Clark should be judged by the same standard every great athlete should be judged by:
Talent.
Skill.
Toughness.
Leadership.
Production.
Impact.
Growth.
Winning.
Not resentment.
Not labels.
Not identity politics.
Not some writer’s need to turn a basketball phenomenon into a racial grievance column.
Women’s basketball deserves better than that.
The fans deserve better than that.
And yes, Caitlin Clark deserves better than that.