Ever felt that you were in a situation where you should have gotten credit, but didn’t? Caitlin Clark sure did, a few days ago. The 23-year-old is currently among the most recognizable faces of the WNBA, having won the 2024 Rookie of the Year title and ushered in an increase in game viewership and ticket sales through a phenomenon called ‘The Caitlin Clark effect’. However, she also received a snub before Selection Sunday, after a debate between analysts Sam Ravech, Ari Chambers, and Alexa Philippou led to Clark’s name being removed from the ‘Top 5 WCBB PLAYERS ALL TIME’ list! ESPN did not win any favors from fans that day after that segment aired. While they had a reason for removing Clark from the list, Lisa Leslie’s recent remarks show why that does not matter.
Lisa Leslie was recently interviewed by USA Today Sports for a lively discussion about women’s basketball. With March Madness currently approaching the final stages, the interviewer wanted to know whether the former WNBA player thinks winning an NCAA Championship is needed to be in the eventual GOAT (Greatest of All Time) conversation. After all, Caitlin Clark never won the NCAA championship. The No. 1 speculated draft pick for the 2025 WNBA Draft, Paige Bueckers, and her UConn Huskies currently face some tough competition after securing a spot in the ‘Sweet 16’ stage. Leslie denied the same. After all, despite having a fruitful WNBA career, she can relate to the setback that Clark experienced at her own college stage.
“I didn’t win an NCAA Championship. I was National player of the year, I won all of the individual Awards, but sometimes, you know, it’s very hard to win a national championship, regardless of how much people talk about it,” said Leslie. “Like ‘oh you have to have it’. It is one of the hardest things to do in a tournament where you have so many games, and you’re trying to get there. So yes, shout out to all of the players who were able to win national championships, but it doesn’t make a player who didn’t win a National Championship any less of an amazing individual player, and the possibility of being the talks of being a goat, for sure”.
How do Lisa Leslie’s remarks relate to the ESPN controversy? Well, it is because during the debate, Ari Chambers made a case against Caitlin Clark by stating, “Love Caitlin, love how she has transcended the game, I’m not going away from that. What makes a top 5 player? Winning. The only strike against Caitlin Clark is that she has not won a national championship.” Lo and behold, her name was removed. By the end, the final 5 players on the list were Stewie, Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, and Cheryl Miller. All 5 players had won multiple championships during their college careers.
Sure, Caitlin Clark may not have the NCAA championship title to her name. However, do you know what she does have? She has the honor of being a two-time AP Player of the Year, a two-time Naismith College Player of the Year, a four-time first-team USBWA All-American, a four-time first-team WBCA All-American, a three-time unanimous first-team All-American, and a three-time first-team AP All-American! On top of that, she was the 3x NCAA scoring and assist leader during her 4-year tenure with the Iowa Hawkeyes. You might get confused reading it, but she has won it.
NCAA, College League, USA Tournament First Round-Holy Cross vs Iowa Mar 23, 2024 Iowa City, IA, USA Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark 22 reacts as forward Hannah Stuelke 45 looks on during the second quarter of the NCAA first round game against the Holy Cross Crusaders at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa City Carver-Hawkeye Arena IA USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJeffreyxBeckerx 20240323_sjb_bc9_079
Clark ended her college career as the NCAA career scoring leader, leaving behind a record of 3,951 points to be broken by any future generation of college athletes. She was the single-season scoring leader (1,234 points) and the first player to lead Division I in points and assists in the same season twice (2022, 2024).
Despite all of that, the absence of a college championship title was enough to remove her from the list.
Caitlin Clark did come close to possessing an NCAA championship title, however. She played in back-to-back national title games in 2023 and 2024. Clark and the Hawkeyes lost to South Carolina in 2024 and to the LSU Tigers, led by current Chicago Sky star Angel Reese, the year prior. Despite the effort taken by the teams to get to that pivotal stage, fate ultimately wasn’t with the Iowa Hawkeyes squad.
Lisa Leslie did not need an NCAA championship title to define how her WNBA career trajectory would go. After all, over 12 years with the Los Angeles Sparks, the Center won 2 WNBA championships (2001, 2002), was named the Finals MVP both years, won the MVP title on 3 separate occasions, and earned All-Team honors. Therefore, she could relate and stand behind Caitlin Clark for support. Fortunately, she was not the only one to do so.
Sue Bird defended Caitlin Clark after ESPN snub: “This kid is obviously special”
From ESPN and ClutchPoints to BetWay Insider, it would be hard not to find Sue Bird’s name in contention for ‘The Greatest WNBA players of all time’. Over 20 years with the Seattle Storm, she secured 4 WNBA championships, multiple All-Star and All-team honors, and the moniker of “Sue Die, b——! Bird”, or “DB”, thanks to her memorable game-winning shots. Having made a mark both on the domestic and international level (5 Olympic gold medals), there is no one better to judge what defines ‘greatness’ in women’s basketball. Therefore, when she heard about Caitlin Clark’s snub, Bird was completely floored, and not in a good way.
“Listen, I think the way that I’m looking at this: No, Caitlin didn’t win [a national championship]. It’s why she’s not No. 1 [on the list]. I think going to the national championship game two years in a row, basically playing big in every big game, hitting every big shot in every big moment, there’s something to that clearly,” said Bird during an episode of ‘A Touch More’ podcast.
Bird also added that “This kid is obviously special, definitely one of the greatest of all time. And I think when I really look at lists like this, it’s kind of like, do you go based on just resumé, or do you based on if we had a draft, who would you take? And there’s no way you’re not taking Caitlin Clark in the top five. And to me, there’s no way you’re not taking her in the top three. I just think that’s the reality of it.”
period sue pic.twitter.com/9B9Mzyhjbl
— correlation (@nosyone4) March 20, 2025
Sue Bird herself won two NCAA championships, one in 2000 and the other in 2002. Bird helped UConn reach the Sweet 16 as a freshman. Then, under her guidance, the team won titles during her sophomore and senior years, with a Final Four appearance in between. She created stats on the individual level too, setting UConn’s all-time record for 3-point field-goal percentage (.459) and free-throw percentage (.892). Bird continues to hold the latter one even today.
Do you believe that Caitlin Clark deserved to be snubbed from the list? Or do you stand with the opinions given out by Lisa Leslie and Sue Bird? Let us know in the comments section down below.
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