Everyone Thinks Caitlin Clark Will Be Michael Jordan Of Women's Basketball
16/04/2024 23:57
Michael Jordan permanently changed the NBA and basketball as a sport during his two decades of basketball. With the hype around Caitlin Clark now at fever pitch (no pun intended), some are wondering if the newly-minted Indiana Fever star can be for the WNBA what MJ was for his league.
The 2023-24 college basketball season saw Clark emerge as not only most popular athlete in college sports, but arguably in all American sports. While she never won a title in college, she led the Hawkeyes on back-to-back trips to the Final Four and two runner-up finishes in the NCAA Tournament.
Along the way, Clark shattered the records for points scored in women's basketball and become must-see TV at any venue she plays.
Even Jordan himself didn't have quite that much fanfare coming out of mighty North Carolina as a national champion back in the 1980s. But fans are certainly seeing the parallels now:
"Very few athletes can fundamentally change a sport — Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, etc. Caitlin Clark may be one of them," one user on X wrote.
"The (WNBA) has never seen a draw like Caitlin Clark, I need her to get that Michael Jordan pay bump when her next contract is up," wrote another.
"Caitlin Clark should be viewed the way Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods were viewed. The greats of all time," Fox Sports' Craig Carton said last week.
Very few athletes can fundamentally change a sport — Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, etc.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) April 16, 2024
Caitlin Clark may be one of them.
(Chart via @LevAkabas) pic.twitter.com/AcjjESv6Ke
The WNBA is already bracing for a massive windfall in eyeballs and attendees. Many teams have already had to change venues for Fever games to larger ones in order to accommodate Clark's many new and longtime fans.
