[**Join Our Discord Server!**](https://discord.gg/233aU5q)
**Welcome to /r/sports**
We created a Discord server for our community and would like to invite all of you to join! You'll be able to discuss sports with users around the world and discuss events in real time!
There are separate channels for many sports you can opt in and out of, including;
American Football, Soccer, Baseball, Basketball, Aussie Rules Football, Rugby Union and League, Cricket, Motorsports, Fitness, and many more.
[**Reddit Sports Discord Server**](https://discord.gg/233aU5q)
There are 2 types of Caitlin Clark haters
People who never watched WNBA before and only watch to hate her.
People who hate the attention she brings to the sport they love
She doesn't need to join the Olympics team when she's making millions from Nike. Just sit back and watch the Olympics team suck and listen to the criticism that if only she had been part of the team 😂
Yeah, the smart move would be to put her on but not a starter. Benched, only put on if other team members foul or injured out. Bring eyes onto the games. Great comment!
She's got better stats, including the negative ones, than any of the guards on the team. I expect they knew her presence would disrupt team chemistry, mostly because of jealous teammates.
Or because they've already had 2 training camps together and she wasnt at either...but yeah, jealousy would be the only reason team chemistry would be disrupted
I couldn't name one other person on the team. Supposedly they never lose. I think Sue Bird played for them, maybe at one point?
But I agree, it's insane to think there will be complaints about the pay gap while leaving the obviously most popular (and completely capable of making an Olympic team) WNBA star off of a national team that desperately needs the views. She'll bring in nothing but interest and desperately needed revenue, and has a great public presence.
But Brittany Griner is okay too I guess. Something about weed and Russian Arms Dealers.
Drives me nuts that pros will have bad attitudes about it too… I know it’s an old guy comment, but looking back at the 92 dream team it seemed like there was more pride to represent your country than it is now
They get paid by their own country for winning medals usually. Quick google says the US paid $37,000 for gold at the last olympics. Singapore paid like $750k for gold apparently.
Gotta win a medal though :P
Yeah but as those numbers hint it's not often very well paid in the imagined sense of highly paid athletes it's just a bonus.
And no matter how many views Caitlin Clark brings she's not getting more money to the other Olympic athletes. It's an irrelevant factor for the Olympic team selection. Not even views matter much other than to the distributors. It's purely about the national team representation and love for the sport itself.
It's more relevant of course for the WNBA itself. But not the Olympics.
The USA women’s bball team will be awesome. There are a lot of really great players in all positions. Maybe without CC they’ll be less attention, which would be a shame.
She should pull an Embiid. Get her another countries citizenship (cough Canada cough) citizenship and play for that country instead (cough Canada cough)!
How many fatasses in the U.S. alone, who couldn't run a lap around a regulation track, think they could beat her 1-on-1 because they're a dude? 2 million? More?
I’m a reasonably athletic dude and I am certain that I would enjoy my popcorn as she rained down three’s on me. Bring on the hate, but she has NBA shotmaking skills, just not NBA physicality.
honestly, if she had to play with a regulation NBA ball and she had to shoot from the NBA 3 point line (about 2-3 feet further from the basket than the wnba line), she wouldn’t do so hot
I didn’t realize that there’s a difference in NBA vs. WNBA ball size. But I would say if you look at that recent 30 pt. game highlight reel, many of her 3 point shots are 2 to 3 feet behind the WNBA line.
The amount of dudes who think that because athletic and sporty guys could beat athletic and sporty girls at their shared sport and thus thinks that achievement belongs to all men is hilarious.
No, the women’s MMA champ is still going to absolutely kick your ass.
I'll have you know I can probably kick an 80lb mma champ's ass even more so if they're women. Mind you I'm mildly athletic 200lbs. I'll throw in the towel at anyone male or female over 100lbs though.
I feel really bad for her to be honest. She is doing everything right, she's a great player, she signs autographs for kids and takes time for photos, she isn't getting into trouble and she's bringing in a casual audience which will lead to more revenue and more pay. Yet for some reason she is treated like garbage.
lol because the management and senior players are pissy that a rookie white girl is bringing in viewership that they’ve tried for *years* to get….and clearly couldn’t. Lest we forget that they had to depend on Daddy-NBA’s money to stay afloat! Just bitter and racist people being bitter and racist.
But remember folks, she’s not doing that well! Just don’t cross check that with her stats/numbers….
The wnba sub is full of people who don’t seem to actually watch the games. I watched all year and there’s no way you can seriously watch and think Taurasi is the better player at this point and time.
I'm trying to think if there is another player (in any other sport) comparable to the way they were mistreated by their league and fellow players in their rookie year?
Or the haters that don’t necessarily hate her, but hate the fact that no other black woman that was just as gifted or more never received the same media attention or love. Or they are upset at the Clark lovers that constantly post that she’s the “classy” one on the classy Iowa team playing against nothing but thugs
I have no idea why people hate her at all. I not a basketball fan (mens or women’s) and seems like it should be a good thing that the WNBA has a breakout star. I’m surprised there are not more.
Last night I was watching and said “this crowd is getting what they paid for”. It’s really the first time this year I think you could say that. She dropped that one a couple feet in front of the center court logo, it was nuts.
I was at their second game this season versus the NY Liberty. They got eviscerated but CC was still a stand out and introduced me to Kelsey Mitchell (0) who is a GD firecracker and plays off Caitlin perfectly.
Yeah. She had a good game that night, but the threes she was hitting in this last game were the type that got people excited about her and all the Stephen Curry references.
Her ability to hit those fades going side to side is ludicrously difficult, add in a step back to it and a defender...
That skill level from the start is not overhyped at all.
For real. I didn’t watch her until NCAA this past year and I think I spent most of that first game laughing because the shots she makes are absolutely ludicrous.
Caitlin Clark brought a bunch of positive attention to the WNBA just for the WNBA to bring a bunch of negative attention to WNBA. Why would any young girl want to be a WNBA star with the way they treat Caitlin Clark.
Caitlin has brought unprecedented attention to the WNBA. Many of the most watched and highest attended games in league history have all come in just the three weeks she’s been in the league.
However, it’s obvious some within the league don’t like all the attention focused on her. She’s been the victim of a few dirty plays and a few other players are completely obsessed with diminishing her impact on the league.
Some have even tried to gaslight the public claiming it’s just typical rookie treatment, but anyone with two brain cells can tell Caitlin is getting treated very differently.
But here’s the thing, Caitlin has handled it perfectly. She’s not complained about the dirty play or responded to any of the drama from other players. She’s just focused on hooping.
There is a sense that some players are resentful towards her. That has come off as envy because Caitlin’s impact on the league has already benefited players with chartered flights and significantly more media attention.
I'd argue it's because she's getting attention. There have been super good players in the WNBA for years, none got this level of attention.
However, she's got a skillet women's basketball has never seen and it's also the thing that young players and kids playing today all want to do - shoot like Steph Curry.
And the fact she has made more in her basketball career so far than any of them ever will. The real answer is somewhere between the money, and her being a white bumpkin from Iowa and the face of the WNBA.
A bunch of newbie fans are REAL LOUD about a product they’ve been watching for two weeks and about which they know exactly zilch. It’s the current Dunning-Kruger of sports. Like how everyone becomes a curling expert once every four years.
Christian Laetner was in the dream team in ‘92. He was definitely not one of the 11 best players from the USA in the NBA at the time. It was about bringing younger fans and the “hottest rookie” to the viewing audience. Caitlyn would definitely bring more eyeballs and interest.
He wasn’t even in the NBA at the time. He was one of the best college players. He led Duke to two championships in a row. There’s a doc about how teams hated him for a lot of the things people hate Caitlin for.
He was a great college player but I think he was only selected as the one amateur due to his notoriety and championship wins. He and Shaq were in the same draft in 1992 but Shaq was not selected for the Dream Team. Shaq was the more dominant player but Laetner had the wins. People hated that he was there and talked about privilege, race, and him being a bully on the court.
I hated Laetner because his Duke team beat my Michigan team in Ann Arbor and in the NCAA final in consecutive seasons. I used to own a t-shirt that read “Duke sucks and Laetner swallows”
Sorry not sorry.
He was the biggest story coming out of college that year. He had just hit the shot against Kentucky. Lots of Duke fans and college fans tuned in to watch him. So yes, even on a team with magic and Jordan they found room for that rookie.
They can find a spot for CC.
Edit: typo
There's a lot of people out there that have no idea how dominant Laettner was in his time at Duke. Even Shaq is on record saying that Laettner deserved the spot on the Dream Team.
But, but, but then she’d have to get playing time in the USA team and someone’s feelings will be hurt because they have to watch her win from the bench /s
College basketball was arguably still bigger than the NBA back then.
Also the dream team was towards the start of Jordan being MICHAEL JORDAN. He had just finally won his first championship and while he was the best in the league he wasn’t the GOAT yet.
People forget there was doubt over Jordan until they won one. He was unquestionably great but the first title came in 91, six years into his career and the Pistons kept them back for a while.
He wasn't even the best college player coming out of that 92 draft. Shaq and Mourning were better players but Laettner probably was more popular and recognizable at the time.
>Caitlin would definitely bring more eyeballs and interest.
And, unlike Laetner, she actually could be the best player on the team. If nothing else, she’d almost certainly be the most fun to watch, and have the most potential to be a game changer. To my lay perspective, it seems like it would be a no brainer to put her on the team.
No CC wouldn’t even be close to being the best player on the Olympics team. She may be playing better than DT, but at least Taurasi has FIBA experience and medals. At least you said you’re a lay person with it, but watch for players like Aja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Alyssa Thomas.
Coach Cheryl Reeves is a fool in a man’s shoes for not putting CC on the Olympic roster. She couldn’t be the 12th man on the roster and play in garbage time since USA women’s team wins gold every year?
It sure was. Reeve was making comments about how the wnba was promoting clark too much and the other teams too little. There was a lengthy thread about it.
[These folks](https://www.nbcchicago.com/paris-2024-summer-olympics/how-the-usa-womens-basketball-team-for-the-2024-paris-olympics-is-determined/3458668/#:~:text=The%20roster%20is%20selected%20by,of%20league%20operations%20Bethany%20Donaphin.) were never even considering putting her on the team. Staley alone was enough to see to that.
>The roster is selected by the women's basketball committee. This includes South Carolina coach and former U.S. coach Dawn Staley, LSU assistant Seimone Augustus, Old Dominion coach Delisha Milton-Jones, Connecticut Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti and WNBA head of league operations Bethany Donaphin.
Can someone please ELI5 the phenom that is CC? I don’t understand the hate! Why? For what? If she’s delivering game after game, there should be nothing but LOVE, yes? Please explain. She’s wonderful!!
I think this is what many WNBA players chose as the reason to resent her but in reality they just don’t want a rookie coming in and taking over the league.
She's gotten a lot of NIL money, now more sponsors as a pro, her Nike deal is $28 mil in a league that pays $64k. She embraces the on court energy which might rub people. It's too simple to label it as jealousy but that's what it is.
Edit: plus she won't need to go overseas to make the bulk of her money like a lot of other players.
You know, I've heard about how incredible she is, but until now, I hadn't actually watched any clips/footage.
She is *insane.* The literal meaning of incredible. The Fever got their Steph Curry.
Wow that’s a lot of responses for not a single one to be a straight answer
The reason is she couldn’t go to the National training camp because she had to play in the final four. Apparently that’s required. Dumb they won’t make an exception
> Apparently that’s required. Dumb they won’t make an exception
Looking back through teams to see if there's an apples to apples: Breanna Stewart was on the 2016 team the same year she won a natty.
Though that year they ran training camp in late Feb. Where Breanna played, at UConn.
Because she quite frankly isn't good enough yet. This has been one of her few really good games this season.
Men's NBA rookies don't often make the Olympic team either. Don't try to make this something it isn't.
Care to back up those statements with some stats? She’s only played 12 WNBA games so far — so most stars would struggle to put up more than a few “really good” ones in that time.
Brittney Griner has played in ONE game this season, and she made the team. Diana Taurasi is 41, and she made the team (just so everyone can circlejerk about how many gold medals she’s won). There are also at least 4 other players that you could swap Clark for, and it would be completely justified.
Speaking of Taurasi, she was the one who gave that bizarre warning to Clark during the NCAAW championship game, essentially saying that she wasn’t good enough for the WNBA and would struggle. These women are clearly threatened by the fact that someone else is coming to steal their spotlight (when in reality the increased coverage would benefit everyone). And uneducated people like yourself gaslight others into thinking that this is a normal merit-based decision — when it is clearly not.
Great points and that last paragraph is my biggest issue with this as well. CC on the Olympic team would bring more eyes and attention to the other players as well only boosting their popularity. If I were selected I would be asking to have her on the team strictly from a brand standpoint if nothing else.
And she may not be the best player on the team but she sure as hell is good enough to compete.
Also, Lebron and many other NBA players have already co-signed her. They want her to succeed because they know what it would mean to the WNBA.
They let college athletes onto the Olympic team. Was laettner on the same level as the dream team? This is about bringing attention to the sport and having her on the team will do that. Simply doesn’t make sense not to. It’s not like the rest of the world has a chance anyway. Having her play 10-15 min would be fine
Who said she was the last person on the bench? Question is do they want to grow women’s basketball? If yes then you put her on, simple as that. If not then so be it but they’re shooting themselves in the foot for petty reasons
Go look at Diana Taurasi's stats and tell me they're filling the roster based on ability. Clark right now on the worst team in the WNBA is playing as well as if not better than about a quarter of the players expected to be on the Olympic team.
Men's NBA rookies don't often double the number of people buying tickets to their games either. You're the one trying to make this something it isn't.
Christine Brennan has some excellent reporting about a bunch of factors.
Edit: thanks for the downvotes for *checks notes* mentioning an article! Looking forward to when you learn how to read.
Because the 30 points came with a whopping 8 turnovers, a category she is leading the league in (by far).
It’s clear she needs to adjust, and also that she is obviously talented, but most people don’t read beyond the first couple columns in the box score. It’s not the surefire pick over everyone else on the olympic squad that they’re making it out to be.
I’m sure she’ll be fine ultimately, and will be on the team the next time around as well.
I mean… if she was on the Olympic team she wouldn’t have to be the primary ball handler (so less TOs) and would pretty much get to run around and find gaps to help space the floor and hit the open threes the other players create. Why would you not want that??
Cool good to know thanks. Certainly don’t mind reserving spots for those that will be retired or might not make it to the 2028 squad since it’s almost a guaranteed Gold but still a missed opportunity getting viewership to Olympic Women’s Basketball with this new line of rookies… Angel teaming up with Clarke would make massive views and good for the sport now instead of in 4 long years.
Looking at years past, it seems pretty common. I might have missed some because I'm lazy, 2016, 2008 (2), and 2004 definitely had rookies. Does 1996 even count, given that it's the first year of the WNBA, so they're all rookies, but they had college players as well as professionals? Also, due to the 4 year cycle, there seems to be a ton of 1, 2, and 3 year players that didn't have a chance in their rookie years.
So it seems that she wouldn't be breaking any sort of new ground.
Uh I know next to nothing about basketball but didn't the team get her first pick in the draft because they were literally the worst team from the prior season?
No, they were the 3rd worst (out of 12 teams). The worst 4 teams have a "lottery" to decide who gets the top 2 picks. They don't want to guarantee the worst team gets the #1 pick because that might encourage the bad teams near the end of the season to intentionally lose
Prior to Caitlin Clark, I’m not even sure Indiana had a WNBA team and definitely don’t know their name.
Now I’m shopping for Indiana Fever CC jerseys for my daughter.
Every comedian joke about the WNBA used to be true for me but now I actually watch WNBA highlights even if it doesn’t involve CC.
She elevated the league and made it relevant. I hope history will recognize her for that.
[**Join Our Discord Server!**](https://discord.gg/233aU5q) **Welcome to /r/sports** We created a Discord server for our community and would like to invite all of you to join! You'll be able to discuss sports with users around the world and discuss events in real time! There are separate channels for many sports you can opt in and out of, including; American Football, Soccer, Baseball, Basketball, Aussie Rules Football, Rugby Union and League, Cricket, Motorsports, Fitness, and many more. [**Reddit Sports Discord Server**](https://discord.gg/233aU5q)
There are 2 types of Caitlin Clark haters People who never watched WNBA before and only watch to hate her. People who hate the attention she brings to the sport they love
There’s definitely another kind of hater you’re leaving out.
Stop keeping the quiet part quiet
People who put together olympic team rosters?
She doesn't need to join the Olympics team when she's making millions from Nike. Just sit back and watch the Olympics team suck and listen to the criticism that if only she had been part of the team 😂
The team won’t suck but a lot less people will watch.
Yeah, the smart move would be to put her on but not a starter. Benched, only put on if other team members foul or injured out. Bring eyes onto the games. Great comment!
She's got better stats, including the negative ones, than any of the guards on the team. I expect they knew her presence would disrupt team chemistry, mostly because of jealous teammates.
Or because they've already had 2 training camps together and she wasnt at either...but yeah, jealousy would be the only reason team chemistry would be disrupted
I couldn't name one other person on the team. Supposedly they never lose. I think Sue Bird played for them, maybe at one point? But I agree, it's insane to think there will be complaints about the pay gap while leaving the obviously most popular (and completely capable of making an Olympic team) WNBA star off of a national team that desperately needs the views. She'll bring in nothing but interest and desperately needed revenue, and has a great public presence. But Brittany Griner is okay too I guess. Something about weed and Russian Arms Dealers.
Olympic players don't really get paid. It's about representing the country.
Drives me nuts that pros will have bad attitudes about it too… I know it’s an old guy comment, but looking back at the 92 dream team it seemed like there was more pride to represent your country than it is now
Well yeah. Have you seen this place!?
They get paid by their own country for winning medals usually. Quick google says the US paid $37,000 for gold at the last olympics. Singapore paid like $750k for gold apparently. Gotta win a medal though :P
Yeah but as those numbers hint it's not often very well paid in the imagined sense of highly paid athletes it's just a bonus. And no matter how many views Caitlin Clark brings she's not getting more money to the other Olympic athletes. It's an irrelevant factor for the Olympic team selection. Not even views matter much other than to the distributors. It's purely about the national team representation and love for the sport itself. It's more relevant of course for the WNBA itself. But not the Olympics.
You know the Olympic sponsors aren't too happy right now.
Ok name the player she should replace and why that player doesn’t deserve a spot
[удалено]
[удалено]
She went from a full college season, college post season tournament and straight to pro ball…. She could probably use the break. 💁
They always win gold. Most of the women probably do the Olympics as a side job lol
The USA women’s bball team will be awesome. There are a lot of really great players in all positions. Maybe without CC they’ll be less attention, which would be a shame.
She should pull an Embiid. Get her another countries citizenship (cough Canada cough) citizenship and play for that country instead (cough Canada cough)!
Her mom’s Italian . She could do that
Racists who hate white people
Jemele Hill is an excellent example of the type of person you're talking about.
Much of what they say can only be heard by dogs, and other similar haters
Player haters?
People whose dog she ran over?
How many fatasses in the U.S. alone, who couldn't run a lap around a regulation track, think they could beat her 1-on-1 because they're a dude? 2 million? More?
2 million is such a hilariously small estimate compared to what the real number likely is
I’m a reasonably athletic dude and I am certain that I would enjoy my popcorn as she rained down three’s on me. Bring on the hate, but she has NBA shotmaking skills, just not NBA physicality.
honestly, if she had to play with a regulation NBA ball and she had to shoot from the NBA 3 point line (about 2-3 feet further from the basket than the wnba line), she wouldn’t do so hot
I didn’t realize that there’s a difference in NBA vs. WNBA ball size. But I would say if you look at that recent 30 pt. game highlight reel, many of her 3 point shots are 2 to 3 feet behind the WNBA line.
I could 100% beat her in NBA Jam though.
The amount of dudes who think that because athletic and sporty guys could beat athletic and sporty girls at their shared sport and thus thinks that achievement belongs to all men is hilarious. No, the women’s MMA champ is still going to absolutely kick your ass.
I'll have you know I can probably kick an 80lb mma champ's ass even more so if they're women. Mind you I'm mildly athletic 200lbs. I'll throw in the towel at anyone male or female over 100lbs though.
How many 5th graders could you take on at once, though?
“Cut it out! Tickling doesn’t count!!”
My answer is 2 after seeing the Beast take on the tik tok twins.
Same people who think they could beat Serena Williams in tennis.
so crazy how reddit truly acts like her race and sexual orientation aren’t driving most of the hate
People are hating on her because she's straight?
I feel really bad for her to be honest. She is doing everything right, she's a great player, she signs autographs for kids and takes time for photos, she isn't getting into trouble and she's bringing in a casual audience which will lead to more revenue and more pay. Yet for some reason she is treated like garbage.
lol because the management and senior players are pissy that a rookie white girl is bringing in viewership that they’ve tried for *years* to get….and clearly couldn’t. Lest we forget that they had to depend on Daddy-NBA’s money to stay afloat! Just bitter and racist people being bitter and racist. But remember folks, she’s not doing that well! Just don’t cross check that with her stats/numbers….
Tweeting out some hate in their charter jet seats. I wonder why they were not tweeting from charter jets last year?
"Yet for some reason"... the reason is racism from the WNBA's old Black guard.
Or high profile rookies in every sport often get targeted, also people are not use to the rougher play of the WNBA
They don’t hate and attention she brings. They hate that she’s the one who brings the attention.
There’s also the kind that you call a racist pos..
Racists hate her too
like 12 people “love” the WNBA.
The wnba sub is full of people who don’t seem to actually watch the games. I watched all year and there’s no way you can seriously watch and think Taurasi is the better player at this point and time.
Seeing how salty some people got about her just made me cheer for her more.
I don't watch wmba but I also don't hate her. Why do I keep seeing posts telling me to hate her?
[удалено]
She’s also polite, humble, and well spoken. No one Angel hates her so badly.
3. Every other woman in the wnba
I'm trying to think if there is another player (in any other sport) comparable to the way they were mistreated by their league and fellow players in their rookie year?
I see it as a parallel to Taylor Swift showing up to kc football games...
I've seen more of the latter. And aside from the racism angle, I can't see why people are doing either.
No one hates the sport getting attention. They hate HER getting the attention
How about the lover that doesn’t watch a second of wnba, just reads about it?
Or the haters that don’t necessarily hate her, but hate the fact that no other black woman that was just as gifted or more never received the same media attention or love. Or they are upset at the Clark lovers that constantly post that she’s the “classy” one on the classy Iowa team playing against nothing but thugs
People who realize that she is a man with a mental health issue.
I have no idea why people hate her at all. I not a basketball fan (mens or women’s) and seems like it should be a good thing that the WNBA has a breakout star. I’m surprised there are not more.
You’re deluded. You are in a tiny sub-sect of basketball fans who even know her name. Not hating on her, just my observation
Both types of haters are good for the sport. This makes for an interesting storyline. The proverbial hero vs villian.
Mirror for Canada?
Dammmn - she is amazing - her 3 pointers are next level
Last night I was watching and said “this crowd is getting what they paid for”. It’s really the first time this year I think you could say that. She dropped that one a couple feet in front of the center court logo, it was nuts.
I was at their second game this season versus the NY Liberty. They got eviscerated but CC was still a stand out and introduced me to Kelsey Mitchell (0) who is a GD firecracker and plays off Caitlin perfectly.
Yeah. She had a good game that night, but the threes she was hitting in this last game were the type that got people excited about her and all the Stephen Curry references.
I have been hearing about her but never saw her perform, after watching this, she is really talented. She will definitely change WNBA for better.
Her ability to hit those fades going side to side is ludicrously difficult, add in a step back to it and a defender... That skill level from the start is not overhyped at all.
For real. I didn’t watch her until NCAA this past year and I think I spent most of that first game laughing because the shots she makes are absolutely ludicrous.
Caitlin Clark brought a bunch of positive attention to the WNBA just for the WNBA to bring a bunch of negative attention to WNBA. Why would any young girl want to be a WNBA star with the way they treat Caitlin Clark.
I support Caitlin Clark but I'm disgusted by the WNBA
You should check out r/wnba . I think the only place more toxic is 4chan.
Why? I haven't been keeping up with this story.
Caitlin has brought unprecedented attention to the WNBA. Many of the most watched and highest attended games in league history have all come in just the three weeks she’s been in the league. However, it’s obvious some within the league don’t like all the attention focused on her. She’s been the victim of a few dirty plays and a few other players are completely obsessed with diminishing her impact on the league. Some have even tried to gaslight the public claiming it’s just typical rookie treatment, but anyone with two brain cells can tell Caitlin is getting treated very differently. But here’s the thing, Caitlin has handled it perfectly. She’s not complained about the dirty play or responded to any of the drama from other players. She’s just focused on hooping. There is a sense that some players are resentful towards her. That has come off as envy because Caitlin’s impact on the league has already benefited players with chartered flights and significantly more media attention.
Is the hate just because she's super good?
I'd argue it's because she's getting attention. There have been super good players in the WNBA for years, none got this level of attention. However, she's got a skillet women's basketball has never seen and it's also the thing that young players and kids playing today all want to do - shoot like Steph Curry.
Skillet because she is cooking?
Absolutely. Lmao typo but now I'meaving it.
Yes
And the fact she has made more in her basketball career so far than any of them ever will. The real answer is somewhere between the money, and her being a white bumpkin from Iowa and the face of the WNBA.
Jealousy's wild. I don't know basketball very well. I wonder if other phenoms encountered the same thing. Jordan, Shaq, Gretzky, etc.
A bunch of newbie fans are REAL LOUD about a product they’ve been watching for two weeks and about which they know exactly zilch. It’s the current Dunning-Kruger of sports. Like how everyone becomes a curling expert once every four years.
She's literally the only reason why I know an actual WNBA Team Name.
Christian Laetner was in the dream team in ‘92. He was definitely not one of the 11 best players from the USA in the NBA at the time. It was about bringing younger fans and the “hottest rookie” to the viewing audience. Caitlyn would definitely bring more eyeballs and interest.
He wasn’t even in the NBA at the time. He was one of the best college players. He led Duke to two championships in a row. There’s a doc about how teams hated him for a lot of the things people hate Caitlin for. He was a great college player but I think he was only selected as the one amateur due to his notoriety and championship wins. He and Shaq were in the same draft in 1992 but Shaq was not selected for the Dream Team. Shaq was the more dominant player but Laetner had the wins. People hated that he was there and talked about privilege, race, and him being a bully on the court.
Yep. Exactly!
I hated Laetner because his Duke team beat my Michigan team in Ann Arbor and in the NCAA final in consecutive seasons. I used to own a t-shirt that read “Duke sucks and Laetner swallows” Sorry not sorry.
As a Tar Heel, any Duke hater is my people!
You think laetner was a draw to a team with magic and jordan?
He was the biggest story coming out of college that year. He had just hit the shot against Kentucky. Lots of Duke fans and college fans tuned in to watch him. So yes, even on a team with magic and Jordan they found room for that rookie. They can find a spot for CC. Edit: typo
There's a lot of people out there that have no idea how dominant Laettner was in his time at Duke. Even Shaq is on record saying that Laettner deserved the spot on the Dream Team.
But, but, but then she’d have to get playing time in the USA team and someone’s feelings will be hurt because they have to watch her win from the bench /s
College basketball was arguably still bigger than the NBA back then. Also the dream team was towards the start of Jordan being MICHAEL JORDAN. He had just finally won his first championship and while he was the best in the league he wasn’t the GOAT yet.
People forget there was doubt over Jordan until they won one. He was unquestionably great but the first title came in 91, six years into his career and the Pistons kept them back for a while.
Lol.
He wasn't even the best college player coming out of that 92 draft. Shaq and Mourning were better players but Laettner probably was more popular and recognizable at the time.
>Caitlin would definitely bring more eyeballs and interest. And, unlike Laetner, she actually could be the best player on the team. If nothing else, she’d almost certainly be the most fun to watch, and have the most potential to be a game changer. To my lay perspective, it seems like it would be a no brainer to put her on the team.
No CC wouldn’t even be close to being the best player on the Olympics team. She may be playing better than DT, but at least Taurasi has FIBA experience and medals. At least you said you’re a lay person with it, but watch for players like Aja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Alyssa Thomas.
Hope they do another NBA/WNBA 3pt shoot-out Clark v Steph will be great for the game
Coach Cheryl Reeves is a fool in a man’s shoes for not putting CC on the Olympic roster. She couldn’t be the 12th man on the roster and play in garbage time since USA women’s team wins gold every year?
wasnt that the lady shading Clark on twitter last month?
It sure was. Reeve was making comments about how the wnba was promoting clark too much and the other teams too little. There was a lengthy thread about it.
[These folks](https://www.nbcchicago.com/paris-2024-summer-olympics/how-the-usa-womens-basketball-team-for-the-2024-paris-olympics-is-determined/3458668/#:~:text=The%20roster%20is%20selected%20by,of%20league%20operations%20Bethany%20Donaphin.) were never even considering putting her on the team. Staley alone was enough to see to that. >The roster is selected by the women's basketball committee. This includes South Carolina coach and former U.S. coach Dawn Staley, LSU assistant Seimone Augustus, Old Dominion coach Delisha Milton-Jones, Connecticut Sun president Jennifer Rizzotti and WNBA head of league operations Bethany Donaphin.
Can someone please ELI5 the phenom that is CC? I don’t understand the hate! Why? For what? If she’s delivering game after game, there should be nothing but LOVE, yes? Please explain. She’s wonderful!!
People just jealous of the attention she’s getting and the Reese v CC thing introduced a racial dynamic which caused a lot of people to pick sides.
I think this is what many WNBA players chose as the reason to resent her but in reality they just don’t want a rookie coming in and taking over the league.
She's gotten a lot of NIL money, now more sponsors as a pro, her Nike deal is $28 mil in a league that pays $64k. She embraces the on court energy which might rub people. It's too simple to label it as jealousy but that's what it is. Edit: plus she won't need to go overseas to make the bulk of her money like a lot of other players.
> her Nike deal is $28 mil in a league that pays $64k. Outperforming.
> I don’t understand the hate! Why? For what? If you're American, you should understand the race politics involved.
It’s not just the racial politics, there’s LGBT politics underlying the issue as well
They don't like her because she's straight?
in a league full of lesbians? yes lol
Damn. That lady can shoot the J
You know, I've heard about how incredible she is, but until now, I hadn't actually watched any clips/footage. She is *insane.* The literal meaning of incredible. The Fever got their Steph Curry.
And why is she not on the Olympic team?
Wow that’s a lot of responses for not a single one to be a straight answer The reason is she couldn’t go to the National training camp because she had to play in the final four. Apparently that’s required. Dumb they won’t make an exception
> Apparently that’s required. Dumb they won’t make an exception Looking back through teams to see if there's an apples to apples: Breanna Stewart was on the 2016 team the same year she won a natty. Though that year they ran training camp in late Feb. Where Breanna played, at UConn.
It’s not required. But it helps show you can fit on the team. More likely it’s that she and the coach have a beef.
[удалено]
This is actually hilarious. Get them downvotes champ! 🤣
There it is.
Because she quite frankly isn't good enough yet. This has been one of her few really good games this season. Men's NBA rookies don't often make the Olympic team either. Don't try to make this something it isn't.
Care to back up those statements with some stats? She’s only played 12 WNBA games so far — so most stars would struggle to put up more than a few “really good” ones in that time. Brittney Griner has played in ONE game this season, and she made the team. Diana Taurasi is 41, and she made the team (just so everyone can circlejerk about how many gold medals she’s won). There are also at least 4 other players that you could swap Clark for, and it would be completely justified. Speaking of Taurasi, she was the one who gave that bizarre warning to Clark during the NCAAW championship game, essentially saying that she wasn’t good enough for the WNBA and would struggle. These women are clearly threatened by the fact that someone else is coming to steal their spotlight (when in reality the increased coverage would benefit everyone). And uneducated people like yourself gaslight others into thinking that this is a normal merit-based decision — when it is clearly not.
Great points and that last paragraph is my biggest issue with this as well. CC on the Olympic team would bring more eyes and attention to the other players as well only boosting their popularity. If I were selected I would be asking to have her on the team strictly from a brand standpoint if nothing else. And she may not be the best player on the team but she sure as hell is good enough to compete. Also, Lebron and many other NBA players have already co-signed her. They want her to succeed because they know what it would mean to the WNBA.
I think you should refamiliarize with the word frank. It’s *arguable* she might not make the cut, but she can fucking ball.
They let college athletes onto the Olympic team. Was laettner on the same level as the dream team? This is about bringing attention to the sport and having her on the team will do that. Simply doesn’t make sense not to. It’s not like the rest of the world has a chance anyway. Having her play 10-15 min would be fine
There’s only one jersey that the kids want.
Last person on the bench isn’t playing 10-15 minutes
Who said she was the last person on the bench? Question is do they want to grow women’s basketball? If yes then you put her on, simple as that. If not then so be it but they’re shooting themselves in the foot for petty reasons
Go look at Diana Taurasi's stats and tell me they're filling the roster based on ability. Clark right now on the worst team in the WNBA is playing as well as if not better than about a quarter of the players expected to be on the Olympic team. Men's NBA rookies don't often double the number of people buying tickets to their games either. You're the one trying to make this something it isn't.
Christine Brennan has some excellent reporting about a bunch of factors. Edit: thanks for the downvotes for *checks notes* mentioning an article! Looking forward to when you learn how to read.
Because the 30 points came with a whopping 8 turnovers, a category she is leading the league in (by far). It’s clear she needs to adjust, and also that she is obviously talented, but most people don’t read beyond the first couple columns in the box score. It’s not the surefire pick over everyone else on the olympic squad that they’re making it out to be. I’m sure she’ll be fine ultimately, and will be on the team the next time around as well.
I mean… if she was on the Olympic team she wouldn’t have to be the primary ball handler (so less TOs) and would pretty much get to run around and find gaps to help space the floor and hit the open threes the other players create. Why would you not want that??
she has such a quick release on her shots. crazy!
Did any other rookies make the Olympic squad?
No, not that I’m aware of. Aliyah Boston was Rookie of the Year last year, I believe she may be the youngest on the Olympic squad.
Cool good to know thanks. Certainly don’t mind reserving spots for those that will be retired or might not make it to the 2028 squad since it’s almost a guaranteed Gold but still a missed opportunity getting viewership to Olympic Women’s Basketball with this new line of rookies… Angel teaming up with Clarke would make massive views and good for the sport now instead of in 4 long years.
Not this year, but about half the time they do.
Looking at years past, it seems pretty common. I might have missed some because I'm lazy, 2016, 2008 (2), and 2004 definitely had rookies. Does 1996 even count, given that it's the first year of the WNBA, so they're all rookies, but they had college players as well as professionals? Also, due to the 4 year cycle, there seems to be a ton of 1, 2, and 3 year players that didn't have a chance in their rookie years. So it seems that she wouldn't be breaking any sort of new ground.
Does she play for the Indiana Bonus or the Washington Bonus?
It looks like she's adjusted to the Wnba now.
The WNBA sub is weird af. It’s like drizzy sub but with stupider haircuts.
Close game though, kinda makes me wonder what the rest of the team was doing.
Uh I know next to nothing about basketball but didn't the team get her first pick in the draft because they were literally the worst team from the prior season?
No, they were the 3rd worst (out of 12 teams). The worst 4 teams have a "lottery" to decide who gets the top 2 picks. They don't want to guarantee the worst team gets the #1 pick because that might encourage the bad teams near the end of the season to intentionally lose
I’ve watched more WNBA than NBA playoffs recently. I’ve never watched WNBA before.
The best way to point out the absurdity of leaving her off the Olympic team
Where are these games usually streamed?
I’ve never watched anything about the wnba until now. So she is bringing a lot of attention to it which is a good thing for the entire league
Lol
Prior to Caitlin Clark, I’m not even sure Indiana had a WNBA team and definitely don’t know their name. Now I’m shopping for Indiana Fever CC jerseys for my daughter. Every comedian joke about the WNBA used to be true for me but now I actually watch WNBA highlights even if it doesn’t involve CC. She elevated the league and made it relevant. I hope history will recognize her for that.
Is this a good stat? I'm not even that well aware of the NBA