Has the WNBA treated Caitlin Clark unfairly? | The Herd
Caitlin Clark had 19 assists in the Indiana Fever’s loss to the Dallas Wings, setting a WNBA record. Clark was left off of the Women’s Olympics team and left off of the WNBA All-Star skills competition.
The on-court rivalry between Caitlin Clark and three-time WNBA champion Diana Taurasi does not appear to be cooling off anytime soon.
The Phoenix Mercury's social media team jumped into the fray this weekend when a video, which appeared to troll Clark, surfaced on the team's verified TikTok account.
"I miss the WNBA. Caitlin, where are you?" a fan sitting on a couch says at the beginning of the video.
"Who's Caitlin? I'm here for Taurasi," says a young fan in Mercury gear and holding a sign that reads, "Who is Caitlin? I'm here for Taurasi."
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Caitlin Clark, left, of the Indiana Fever and Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury are shown during the game on June 30, 2024, at Footprint Center in Phoenix. (Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images)
The video surfaced on the eve of the WNBA's highly anticipated restart. The league went on hiatus after the All-Star game to provide players who were on the U.S. women's national basketball team with an adequate amount of time to complete preparations for the Paris Olympics.
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Team USA defeated France, 67-66, in the gold medal game on Aug. 11. The American women have now won eight consecutive Olympic gold medals.
The fan's commentary in the TikTok video was immediately followed by a brief Taurasi-inspired highlight reel. The longtime Mercury guard is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in WNBA history. Meanwhile, Clark has helped bring an unprecedented amount of attention to women's basketball.
The Fever defeated the Mercury in late June when the teams matched up for the first time in the 2024 season. Clark was complimentary of Taurasi in the days leading up to her first opportunity to compete against a player she grew up idolizing.
"It’s incredible," Clark told reporters on June 29 about Taurasi’s two-decade run in the league. "I don’t think people realize how hard that is to do."
Clark also said taking the court for a game against a player of Taurasi's caliber was "a dream come true. You get to live out your dream while playing against the best."
Caitlin Clark walks off the floor after the WNBA All-Star Game at Footprint Center in Phoenix on July 20, 2024. (Joe Rondone/The Republic/USA TODAY NETWORK)
Meanwhile, when Taurasi was asked to share her thoughts on facing Clark for the first time, she delivered a brief response. "Yeah, it'll be fun," she said.
The budding rivalry between Taurasi and Clark appeared to begin in April when the two-time WNBA Finals MVP was asked about what incoming WNBA rookies could expect. She proceeded to suggest that a rude awakening was in store.
Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury (David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images/File)
"Look, SVP, reality is coming," Taurasi told ESPN's Scott Van Pelt during an appearance on "SportsCenter" on April 6. "There’s levels to this thing. And that’s just life. We all went through it. You see it on the NBA side, and you’re going to see it on this side. You look superhuman playing against 18-year-olds, but you’re going to [be playing against] some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time."
While the comments were about the rookie class as a whole, some believed the remarks were a direct jab at Clark, who dominated at the college basketball level.
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Nevertheless, Taurasi and Clark also share some similarities. Taurasi is the WNBA's career scoring leader, while no one scored more points at the NCAA Division I level than Clark. Both point guards are also strong 3-point shooters.
The Chicago Sky host Taurasi and the Mercury on Thursday night. Phoenix entered the game with a 13-12 record, while Chicago will restart the season looking to improve on its 10-14 mark. The Mercury and Fever go head-to-head for a third time this season on Aug. 16.
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