The WNBA community hasn’t exactly been eager to welcome Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark into the league.
Perhaps because she’s not outspoken politically, because she’s more popular than any other women’s basketball player has ever been, or maybe just because she’s a soft-spoken white girl from the Midwest, the majority of leftist leaders in the league have been quick to attack Clark at every turn.
Well, one of the biggest critics to do so, WNBA star Diana Taurasi, was served her just deserts on Sunday by none other than Clark herself.
And to make the revenge story even more satisfying, Clark did so in stunning fashion — by nearly recording her first-ever triple-double despite suffering from a migraine in a win over Taurasi’s Phoenix Mercury.
The Fever won 88-82, according to Sports Illustrated, and Clark was doing a little of everything (or rather, more than a little of everything).
The rookie phenom scored 15 points, dished out 12 assists and pulled in 9 rebounds.
And she did it all with a persistent migraine, as her coach Christie Sides was quick to point out after the game.
Clark has a migraine, per the team.
Clark has suffered with migraines throughout her whole college career, nearly always playing through them https://t.co/2K3w8AeDj1
— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) June 30, 2024
It sure was good to see Clark prove one of her biggest haters, Taurasi, wrong in such stunning fashion.
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For those who may not remember, Taurasi came after Clark when the latter was still playing for the Iowa Hawkeyes in the NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament.
Taurasi criticized Clark’s skills, saying “reality is coming” for Clark when she enters the WNBA to play against “grown women.”
Diana Taurasi on Caitlin Clark coming to WNBA “Reality is coming….you look superhuman playing against some 18 years olds but you’re going to come play with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time” pic.twitter.com/fxBxGoRZCS
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) April 6, 2024
Thanks to Clark’s stunning success, however, Taurasi has begun to change her tune.
“I mean, it’s amazing what Caitlin’s been able to do in her short career so far — just been nothing short of remarkable,” Taurasi said, according to Sports Illustrated.
“The one thing that I really love about her, she loves the game. You can tell 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. She keeps showing up, keeps getting better every single game.”
“Her future is super bright. Being a veteran and being in this league for a long, long time, it’s pretty cool to see that and going into the future.”
At least she’s starting to understand how special Clark is.
If only more WNBA stars and sports media personalities would follow suit.
