Caitlin Clark Joins Elite List Including Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Claims NBA Veteran

The debate whether Fever rookie Caitlin Clark deserves the hype or not is growing interesting every day. After one of the most controversial sports analysts Stephen A. Smith stood behind the NCAA star, now we have another popular face from the sport praising her. But Patrick Beverley didn’t just do that but added her name to the list which also included the NBA GOATs like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and LeBron James.

Talking to Adam Ferrone about who he thinks pushed the sport of basketball, Beverley had a surprising twist waiting. After giving his first three names, he said, “Caitlin Clark!” Adding an explanation, he said, “Because we said, basketball players. We didn’t say men or women.” To this, all Rone could say was “wow” in astonishment.

Just for clarity, the other names that the Milwaukee Bucks player had mentioned were the LA Spark’s co-owner Magic Johnson, the greatest man to ever step on the court Michael Jordan, and the all-time leading scorer of the NBA ‘King James’. He also mentioned that he was confused between Bron and Stephen Curry since both of them make the games quite interesting. Picking up the experience of James over the unmissable threes of the Golden State Warriors superstar, there was another name that the 3x All-Defensive player also added to his starting five.

It was the 2x WNBA champion of the LA Sparks, Lisa Leslie. The current head coach for Triplets in the BIG3, as a four-time Olympic medalist and 3-time WNBA MVP, has been one of the greatest players of all time and very rightfully on Ferrone’s list as the face of the league. Unsurprisingly, Leslie herself holds Clark in high regard, wishing upon a similar path of greatness.

Leslie deems Caitlin Clark essential for team USA

Undeniably, Clark has been a force of transformation in the sport of basketball. While many are calling the entire 2024 WNBA draft the best one yet with almost all the players adding potential skills to their new teams, the Fever’s rookie is quite different. Seems like everywhere she goes, she adds more value to that place.

Some instances that the Clark fans have noticed are shifting of the fandom from college basketball to the WNBA, bringing in more views with her WNBA career debut against Sun reaching a high of 2.12 million and making the jerseys and tickets sell out before she even touched the ball for Indiana. Further, she has been the face of college basketball for her last two years at Iowa and now is the poster girl for the W, all owing to her standout performances. Considering all of which, Lisa Leslie has a request for the USA basketball.

“She better be on the Olympic team. We should not leave the country without her. She’s a bona fide baller. There’s no doubt she’s already one of the best players in the world,” Leslie said and rightly so. Last year, Clark was the only collegiate athlete to be selected to Team USA’s 14-player training camp roster in Cleveland and is currently the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I history; men or women.

It is incredible how just one player has been able to excel and make so many changes, even if to some extent. It will be interesting to watch how she further adds to the professional leagues over time.