Lyndsey D’Arcangelo ready to ‘move on’ from Diana Taurasi-Caitlin Clark narratives

Thus far in Caitlin Clark’s rookie season, there have been many narratives surrounding the Indiana Fever star regarding how her peers in the WNBA feel about her. But of all the media-driven stories pertaining to Clark, longtime women’s sports writer Lyndsey D’Arcangelo is most tired of the perceived animosity between Clark and WNBA legend Diana Taurasi.

While Taurasi was helping in ESPN’s coverage of the 2024 WNBA Draft, she offered some comments that questioned whether Clark would have immediate success at the next level.

“Reality is coming,” Taurasi previously said about Clark  “You know, there’s levels to this thing. And that’s just life. We all went through it. You see it on the NBA side, and you’re going to see it on this side. You look superhuman playing against 18-year-olds, but you’re going to be playing against some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time.”

Since then, Taurasi has been far more complimentary of Clark’s skills, particularly after Clark and the Indiana Fever defeated Taurasi’s Phoenix Mercury on Sunday.

“It’s amazing. What Caitlin’s been able to do in her short career so far has been nothing short of remarkable,” said Taurasi postgame on Sunday . “The one thing that I really love about her… She’s put the work in. Even throughout her short WNBA career, it’s been a lot of pressure, a lot of things thrown at her and she keeps showing up and she keeps getting better every single game. So her future is super bright.”

During a recent appearance on the Short and to the Point podcast hosted by Jessica Kleinschmidt, D’Arcangelo admitted that she was happy to see Taurasi make these comments towards Clark. Particularly because it means that the narrative of Taurasi being jealous or petty about all of the popularity Clark has brought to the WNBA can now be put behind us.

“If you know Taurasi, she respects ballers,” said D’Arcangelo. “She respects ballers, whatever color, whatever sexuality, male, female, it doesn’t matter… If you ball and you love the game, she respects the hell out of that. Again, there are similarities in their game. These two are made from the same cloth. They are both really, really high-level competitors. They’re gym rats, they are students of the game.

“It’s clear that when Diana was talking about Caitlin, that’s what she sees and that’s what she respects. Maybe there was a little bit… You gotta earn my respect. But she did that. That’s evident in what Taurasi said postgame.”

As far as people saying Taurasi may be jealous of Clark, D’Arcangelo instead believes Taurasi’s original criticism of Clark came more “off the cuff” in a joking nature than being a real personal attack.

“A lot of people who don’t know Taurasi don’t know how she is. She says stuff off the cuff. She will make jokes. There’s always something, whether it’s against another team or another player in the league. To think that she was being petty or saving all her energy… This legendary baller who has been in the league for 20 years… It’s ridiculous. You have to have the context. You have to know how Taurasi is. And if you don’t, learn, ask, become familiar. Don’t assume she was being petty. I’m glad that she made those comments because it’s like… Can we finally put this to bed and move on?”

Truly, nobody will really know what Taurasi’s intentions were with her original comments to Clark other than Taurasi herself. But if Caitlin Clark didn’t already have Diana Taurasi’s respect before, she certainly does now after Sunday’s game.

Short and to the Point with Jessica Kleinschmidt is available on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and wherever you get your podcasts.

The post Lyndsey D’Arcangelo ready to ‘move on’ from Diana Taurasi-Caitlin Clark narratives appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions .