Sheryl Swoopes’ Assessment of Caitlin Clark’s Rookie Season is Turning Heads

The ongoing dispute between WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes and Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark took an unexpected turn on Tuesday.

During an episode of the “Gilbert’s Arena” podcast, Swoopes was asked her opinion of Clark’s rookie season as a whole, and specifically the fact that the 22-year-old broke several notable records, including the single-season record for points by a rookie.

Swoopes’ response was both complementary and disparaging with slight overtones of envy.

“[Clark put up] hella good numbers, but to me that’s not dominating,” Swoopes said .

“People were like, ‘Oh my God, you said she wouldn’t be good,’ but I didn’t say she wouldn’t be good, what I said was I didn’t think Caitlin, or Angel (Reese), would come into the league and dominate immediately, which I don’t think either of them did. …I still don’t think she’s dominating, but she’s a different player than she was in the first half of the season.”

Clark wasn’t just breaking rookie records either; she took down several WNBA ones as well including single-season assists (321), single-game assists (19) and most All-Star votes (700,735), and she became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 300 career assists.

Despite everything being laid out in front of her, Swoopes still maintains that Clark’s rookie season, though impressive, wasn’t dominant. She did, however, admit that Clark is a much better player now than she was before the Olympic break.

“I’ve never questioned if Caitlin was a good player; I think she’s a hell of a player,” Swoopes added. “My thing was…I thought it would take her some time to adjust to being a professional, and to me, I think that’s exactly what she’s done.”

Related: Indiana Fever Make Bold Statement About Caitlin Clark’s All-WNBA Candidacy