Rookie sensation Caitlin Clark has brought unprecedented limelight to the WNBA. But the hype and pomp around her has also estranged the 22-year-old from many seasoned veterans of the game. LeBron James also suffered a similar treatment when he began his NBA journey as ‘The Chosen One’. Therefore, he had some potent advice for Clark to get over the cold looks from the people around her.
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On the recent episode of Mind the Game pod, JJ Redick brought up how Clark has been dealing with a lot of “dislike” and “vitriol” from the experienced WNBA players. LBJ could relate to Clark’s predicament immediately and recalled how he faced “animosity” from his teammates when he began his NBA journey.
“My own teammates that I had to be like on the floor with, practicing with, on the planes with, in the locker room, in game situations, had this kinda, you don’t wanna say hate but just like animosity towards me,” James told Redick.
LeBron found this attitude strange because he wanted to “learn from the vets” and didn’t approach them with the arrogance of ‘The Chosen One’. However, he still had to deal with it tactfully.
Therefore, he rolled out a spot-on advice for the Indian Fever guard to mitigate her plight. The four-time NBA Champion advised her to remain focused and not waver from putting in the work.
“Be a horse man, the Kentucky derby, put your blinders on. Go to work, show up to work, punch your clock in, prepare yourself. Work on your game, work on your craft, kinda keep your mouth shut and learn from the vets,” James advised Clark.
The NBA’s All-Time NBA Leading Scorer kept emphasizing about Clark’s need to stay mum to avoid feeding narratives to her detractors, who can “splice it up” to suit their agenda.
Meanwhile, he also hailed Clark for bringing so much more attention to the WNBA and highlighted how the league has now started arranging “chartered flights” for the first time in its history. While these words are bound to motivate the Iowa Hawkeyes legend, her work in the WNBA will not be easy.
Tough early days await Caitlin Clark
In the first four games of her WNBA career, Caitlin Clark has averaged 17.1 points , 5.5 assists, and 4 rebounds per game. While these are not shabby numbers for a rookie, she has committed 6.5 turnovers and 4.3 personal fouls per game, proving that the jump from college to the WNBA has been challenging.
To make the matters more complicated, her Indiana Fever has lost all of their four games, with Clark committing numerous mistakes during crucial junctures.
These lapses have provided more fuel for her detractors and many of them have pounced on her for it. However, Clark also has had the toughest schedule of any team, drawing perennial title contenders like the New York Liberty and the Connecticut Sun amid their four match-ups.
