Caitlin Clark enjoyed tremendous support and admiration from fans and analysts during her last ride with the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. However, WNBA superstars Diana Taurasi, and Sue Bird were seemingly not too excited about the young star’s ascension to the forefront of women’s basketball, as they made some eyebrow-raising comments about the Hawkeyes guard.
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Retired NBA star Jeff Teague wasn’t too pleased with Taurasi, and Bird’s remarks and called them out on the latest episode of the Club 520 Podcast.
“[Taurasi and Stewart] played this all wrong bro. They were supposed to gas this s**t. This is why people don’t watch this s**t when y’all leave college… Y’all hating on the best thing that’s gonna happen to the W[NBA] in a long time.
The 1x NBA champion went on to compare the current WNBA situation with the mid-80s when Michael Jordan joined the league and took it to a whole new level.
“This is y’all Michael Jordan… MJ came and he saved the league and took it to a whole another marketing stream… Caitlin Clark is y’all MJ.”
Teague was miffed about Bird and Taurasi openly showcasing their bias toward Paige Bueckers, who plays for their alma mater UConn. On ESPN’s alternate broadcast of the semifinal battle between the Huskies and the Hawkeyes, Bird suggested there’s a case for Bueckers being the top pick in the 2024 WNBA draft over Clark, while Taurasi bullishly claimed she’d take the UConn guard over the Iowa superstar without explaining why.
While Bueckers is an exceptional player, Clark is a generational talent. No player since LeBron James in 2003 has generated as much buzz as Clark even before stepping into the league. Iowa’s final three games in the NCAA Tournament shattered women’s basketball viewership record, with each match surpassing the mark set by the previous contest.
Per Nielsen, a record-setting 18.7 million viewers tuned in to watch Iowa and South Carolina battle in the championship game. Clark’s impact on women’s basketball is staggering and established stars like Bird and Taurasi downplaying her ability is the last thing any basketball fan would want to see.
Lynette Woodard’s shocking comments about Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking feat
Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi weren’t the only female basketball icons making questionable comments about Caitlin Clark. Hall of Famer Lynette Woodard, who held the women’s college basketball scoring record with 3,649 points before the Hawkeyes superstar surpassed her in January, claimed she still owned the record on a technicality.
During an appearance at the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, she said,
“I don’t think my record has been broken, because you can’t duplicate what you’re not duplicating. So, unless you come with a men’s basketball and a 2-point shot, you know…but just for you, so you can understand, so you can help me spread that word.”
Woodard finished her glorious four-year stint with the Kansas Jayhawks in 1981, five years before college basketball officially adopted the three-point line.
The NCAA doesn’t recognize her scoring record because it was set during the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women’s (AIAW) control of college sports for women before they took over in 1981.
However, the Hawkeyes recognized the Hall of Famer’s achievement and invited her to watch Clark break her record. The Hawkeyes superstar has elevated the standard of women’s basketball to an unprecedented level, but the comments from those who held the baton before her are baffling.
