Breanna Stewart gets brutally honest on Caitlin Clark's GOAT legacy amid title bid
06/04/2024 14:23
Breanna Stewart, a four-time national champion and current New York Liberty superstar, emphasized the importance of winning championships in order for Iowa women's basketball's Caitlin Clark to be regarded among the greatest players in women’s college basketball history.
Stewart is the perfect person to chime in on Clark's legacy, as she was instrumental in helping UConn win four consecutive championships during her college career in Storrs. That helped her get selected by the Seattle Storm with the first overall pick of the 2016 WNBA Draft, where she has gone on two win two titles and two MVP awards so far in her career. Despite all that Clark has accomplished with the Hawkeyes, Stewart thinks it’s vital for her to prove she can win a title in order for her legacy to be cemented.
“Yeah. She does. I think so,” Breanna Stewart said via Sirius XM interview with Nicole Auerbach. “Because you’re going to look 10 years back and you’re going to see all the records she’s broken and the points and stuff like that, but anybody knows, your goal when you play college basketball is to win a national championship. So, you need one.”
"Does Caitlin Clark need a championship to be considered one of the greats in women's college basketball history?" – @NicoleAuerbach
"Yeah. She does." – @breannastewart
Live @WFinalFour Coverage: https://t.co/nV1komI7dDpic.twitter.com/ZkfXGfudRH
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) April 5, 2024
Caitlin Clark’s endless list of accolades
Clark has achieved quite a bit throughout her collegiate career, doing things that not even Breanna Stewart did in college. She broke the NCAA women’s all-time scoring record, surpassed “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s record for the most career points of any players (men’s or women’s) in Division I basketball history, and set a new record for career three-pointers made. These sorts of feats are big enough to immortalize her in the annals of the game for quite some time.
The cherry on top for Clark was securing the Naismith Player of the Year and AP Player of the Year titles for the second year in a row. Her unique achievements include surpassing 3,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 850 rebounds in her college career, a milestone unprecedented in both men’s and women’s basketball history.
Iowa’s road ahead
The Hawkeyes showed resilience in their Final Four game against the UConn Huskies on Friday night, despite the fact that Clark struggled mightily during the first half. Iowa fought back and secured a narrow 71-69 victory, with the game being decided in the final seconds. Clark contributed 21 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, which was just enough for the Hawkeyes to advance to the Championship game.
Clark and Iowa missed out on winning the title last year, losing to LSU in the Championship game. Now, it’s set to be a thrilling match as Iowa takes on undefeated South Carolina for the 2024 National Championship. The Gamecocks are looking to become the first undefeated women's basketball team since UConn achieved the feat during the 2015-2016 campaign.
The Iowa superstar's impact on the game is undeniable. Viewership for the women’s tournament has soared this year, highlighted by Iowa’s Elite Eight victory over LSU, which became ESPN's most-watched college basketball game ever. Ticket prices for this year’s Final Four have also surged as a testament to Clark’s massive influence. And now, she will try to cap off a stellar campaign by winning that ever-elusive championship which would cement her legacy in the eyes of everyone, including Breanna Stewart.
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