Sheryl Swoopes: Caitlin Clark Has Been ‘Very Impressive’ But Not ‘Dominating’ in WNBA

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured Columnist IVSeptember 18, 2024

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Women’s basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes pushed back on the idea that Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is “dominating” the WNBA as a rookie.

“To me, what Caitlin’s been able to do in a short period of time has been very impressive,” she said on Gil’s Arena of Clark’s improvement after the All-Star break. “… I still don’t think she’s dominating, but she’s a different player than she was in the first half of the season.”

Swoopes added that she “never questioned if Caitlin was a good player,” referencing past comments she suggested neither Clark nor the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese would immediately put up the kind of numbers they did in college when they arrived in the WNBA.

Fans of Clark and the Fever will perceive this as Swoopes taking another slight at the 2024 No. 1 overall pick thanks to the tedious saga linking the two.

There’s no question Clark turned a corner in her first year after the WNBA’s midseason break. Since play resumed, she has averaged 24.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists, and she has broken a slew of team and league records. This is the player everyone expected coming out of Iowa.

With what she has done over the last month, to say the 6’0″ guard is a dominant player isn’t a hot take.

At the same time, making the counterargument isn’t entirely unfair, either.

Clark is still a work in progress on defense, so she two-way star like A’ja Wilson, Alyssa Thomas or Napheesa Collier. Her league-leading assist tally is accompanied by the most turnovers in a single season (220 and counting) by a wide margin. And she’s shooting 41.7 percent from the floor and 34.1 percent from beyond the arc, neither of which is elite for a guard.

More than anything, this entire conversation might be jumping the gun considering Clark hasn’t yet been tested in the playoffs.

If the Fever are bounced in the first round and their best player doesn’t have a great showing, then it will inevitably shift how people analyze her game. Should her regular-season stats carry over into the postseason, on the other hand, her status as a “dominant” talent will be much less debatable.