During the game between the Connecticut Sun and the Indiana Fever on Thursday, Caitlin Clark once again asserted her dominance by breaking the most 3-pointer records by a rookie as she hit her 86th from beyond the arc. Naturally, this brought her to the notice of not just WNBA fans but also the WNBA legend Lisa Leslie did not shy away from praising Clark for her exceptional feat. However, when fans took notice of Leslie’s applause, they were quick to give another W legend Sheryl Swoopes a hard time who always tries to undermine Clark’s achievements, as per the rookie’s admirers.

“Congratulations @CaitlinClark22 I’m so proud of you and you are just getting started!! 💕🙏🏾Let it Rain🏀🏀🏀,” Leslie took to the social media platform X to cheer for Clark as she broke Atlanta Dream’s star Rhyne Howard’s record of most three-pointers by a rookie (85) in 2022 after being the number one pick that season. Clark, as of now, has 88 three-pointers. Leslie’s cheer caught the notice of fans who slammed Swoopes for not praising Clark enough.

The Sheryl Swoopes saga with Caitlin Clark started during the April 2022-23 NCAA season. Clark had become the highest scorer in the NCAA tournament with 191 points, breaking Swoopes’s record of 177 points. While it boarded well with everyone, Swoopes came forward to opine that Clark had taken 6 games to break the record that the 4x WNBA Champion had set in 5 games. And from here on, Swoopes did not shy away from criticizing whenever she got a chance.

Next, whether it was breaking Kelsey Plum’s record as the leading NCAA women’s basketball D1 scorer, or the Rookie of the Year debate after Clark made it to the W this year, Swoopes has been at the forefront in criticizing Clark. All the while, Swoopes also praised Clark’s rival Angel Reese for her contributions in the W, which to some looked like undermining Clark’s performances. Hence, fans took a dig at Swoopes after Leslie cheered for Clark.

WNBA fans slam Sheryl Swoopes

“Lisa had to balance out that Sheryl energy 😂 Salute to the Queen 👸🏾,” one fan stated. Notably, recently, when Clark won the Player of the Week award, Ron Thulin, who was commentating with Swoopes, spoke highly of Clark during the Aces vs. Wings game. However, Swoopes kept mum for the entire 50 seconds and her silence was noticed by many of Clark’s fans.

“Meanwhile sheryl swoopes keeps on hating to CC..if only all legends acknowledge the greatness and impact of CC to wnbabut instead they are jealous to her.Thank you Ms Leslie,” another social media user expressed. Notably, when Clark broke Kelsey’s Plum all-time leading scorer record in the NCAA this year, Swoopes opined that Clark had done it in her 5th year after taking the extra year of COVID eligibility. Since Clark had done it in 4 years, her fans had blasted Swoopes for her mistake.

“@airswoopes22 see it’s not that hard,” another fan enumerated. The fan was taking a dig at Swoopes since she had recently opined that Clark’s Indiana Fever had a contribution from other players as well. Hence, if the Fever qualified for the playoff, it wasn’t only due to Clark. 

“@airswoopes22 takes some lessons!” another social media user expressed. In August, on her podcast Queens of the Court, she praised Lexie Hull, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston for Fever’s continued success in terms of high viewer engagement since the W’s return. This incident again made fans slam Swoopes since she had avoided praising Clark for the Fever’s fan craze.

“@airswoopes22 Sheryl Swoopes is BOILING with Jelaousy that Caitlin Clark is already more popular as a basketball player and has transcended the game more in a few months than Sheryl could over her 15 Years As a Pro,” another netizen opined that Swoopes was jealous of Clark because of her popularity. And it was all because Swoopes couldn’t bring as many fans to the W as Clark has been doing now. Notably, Swoopes was present in the first WNBA season in 1997 when the W had just started.

The fans have finally voiced their support for the rookie but do you think that what Swoopes says about Clark is right? Let us know in the comments.