You can beat her team but still not look over her. That’s the apt description for Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark. Clark, despite not winning any of the five matches she has played so far, has made headlines over and over again for her gameplay. When she competes in any game, the focus shifts on her as an individual, irrespective of who she is battling.

Her impact is such that even after the Storm outdid Clark, their head coach, Noelle Quinn, only had high praises for the NCAA Queen. Quinn was present in the post-match press conference after her team edged past Indiana by a narrow margin of  85-83. She was asked a variety of questions focusing on her win but even the journalists couldn’t avoid acknowledging Clark’s efforts.

Noelle Quinn is all praises for Caitlin Clark

Quinn took the question with grace and gave her respected view of Clark. “She’s a good player. You know shot… shot making ability, deep… um and you know, we don’t talk enough about her passing. Her being six feet, she can see a lot um make a lot of reason and obviously teams are being aggressive on her. And she’s still you know, finding ways to um… you know score get to the rim, and assist her teammates. She’s confident you know… she’s poise, she’s different, she’s a beast. You know we talk about her being a generational talent. um She has a lot of talent and she’s going to continue to keep getting better,” Quinn stated.

Notably, Clark scored 21 points with 7 rebounds and an equal number of assists. She is already known for her signature shot logo threes. Other than that, she had a 7-for-9 record on free throws and 6-for-16 field goals. Since she entered the WNBA, she has been the prime target of teams, and opponents try to screen her to avoid a Clark storm. But that hasn’t stopped Clark from giving her best. Caitlin Clark’s innate ability to score has been supported by her knack for assists and passing. As mentioned she had 7 assists in the game against Storm and with her tall height can easily see open players and make her moves. And Quinn therefore praising Clark is not the first time it has happened.

The WNBA season has been the center of highlight among other American sports. Since Clark has been drafted onto the big stage, all eyes have been on her. Clark has had sell-out stadiums and even the league’s runner-up last season the New York Liberty saw a WNBA record of $2 million in ticket revenue during their game against Clark. And all this happened despite the fact that Indiana is down by 0-5 and Clark along with Boston are their only hope for this season.

Recently, the Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero, who was the no. 1-pick in 2022 NBA much like Clark who was the no. 1 pick this season, praised the Fever rookie and acknowledged that Clark getting more games than him on ESPN is “rightfully so!” Thus even Banchero showered praise on Clark despite being compared to him. Such is her aura. Even NBA legend LeBron James couldn’t stop himself when it came to Clark.

LeBron James praises Caitlin Clark

Clark meanwhile has got a lot of criticism for losing all her games. And her haters are trying to troll her on the internet. But James despite the Fever’s abysmal performance came out in support of Clark. As per him Clark should avoid paying heed to her haters and continue to focus on improving her game and adjusting to the WNBA.

“For her, individually, I don’t think she should get involved on nothing that’s being said. Just go have fun, enjoy. But I’m rooting for Caitlin because I’ve been in that seat before. I’ve walked that road before. I hope she kills. I hope Aliyah Boston does amazing. I hope they do great,” James stated as per Fansided. 

Perhaps it is motivation like this that keeps Clark going. And since everyone at the WNBA has acknowledged that Clark is a big player, hopefully, she will too soon display the same with her exceptional performances.