Sheryl Swoopes' change of heart on Caitlin Clark highlighted by playful Hall of Fame exhibit placement

The Pro Basketball Hall of Fame appears to have taken a playful dig at WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes with their strategic positioning of a Caitlin Clark sign.

Swoopes had previously cast aspersions on Indiana Fever star Clark, both prior to and during the Rookie of the Year's impressive debut season in the major leagues.

Clark, hailing from Iowa, opted to let her performance speak for itself, averaging 19.2 points per game along with 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals while shooting 41.7 percent from the field.

• Caitlin Clark's net worth revealed as record-breaking WNBA star makes surprising career move
• WNBA make three major changes in wake of Caitlin Clark's success

An injury to Angel Reese resulted in almost unanimous Rookie of the Year votes for Clark, with only one voter favoring another player over the 22-year-old.

Despite being Clark's biggest critic, Swoopes recently commended the young player's performances, marking a significant change of heart from the four-time champion and three-time WNBA MVP. However, this hasn't deterred the Basketball Hall of Fame from having a bit of fun with their exhibit placements, reports the Mirror US .

Swoopes, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016 following an exceptional career, has a banner hanging inside the Massachusetts venue. Now, positioned directly beneath that banner is a poster of Clark proudly holding a basketball in her Fever uniform.

• Coco Gauff draws inspiration from surprise WNBA star A'ja Wilson amid challenging tennis season
• Caitlin Clark makes surprising and 'exciting' career move after breaking records in debut WNBA season

This light-hearted gesture follows several doubtful comments from Swoopes directed at Clark, starting back in her college days when Swoopes claimed that Clark's NCAA D1 scoring record "wasn't legitimate" because she was 'a 25 year old player in her fifth year'.

Swoopes might have been exaggerating a tad when speaking about Clark, the 22-year-old hotshot from the University of Iowa slated to stir up the WNBA. Yet at 53, Swoopes appeared less than dazzled, remarking that Clark's college success came from having "about 40 shots a game".

Despite Clark propelling the Fever's impressive run post-Olympics, Swoopes held back on praise, opting instead to commend Lexie Hull, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston , relatively overshadowing Clark's luminous form. However, following Fever's brief playoff appearance, it seems Swoopes is shifting her stance, conceding in a Queens of the Court podcast episode: "I just thought what Caitlin was able to do coming into the league this season... she was just crazy."

For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here .