Two-time WNBA champion Lisa Leslie offered up some advice to players in the league griping about Caitlin Clark and her success: “Stop it.”
Leslie made the comments during an interview last week with USA Today. In the process, she explained the main thing that players jealous of Clark don’t seem to get – when she’s getting positive attention, the league is getting attention.
And that’s good for everyone.
“I think we have to understand that when one player eats, we’re all eating and we all get more opportunities. It just opens it up for everyone else,” Leslie said.
“I love that she’s not the player that makes it all about her. She’s given love and homage to the players that have come before her. She shares the wealth with her teammates, and she doesn’t have to do that.”
Lisa Leslie To Players Not Happy With Caitlin Clark – Just Stop Already
The praise from a former star in the WNBA is refreshing to hear. But it’s surprisingly rare.
“We can’t deny what Caitlin Clark has done for the women’s game…have we ever had teams that need larger arenas? Are we gonna get upset about 5, 6, 10 games less on TV?” she added.
“We have access to these games now in a way that we’d never had before!”
It was announced last season that the WNBA was quadrupling revenue via a $2.2 billion media rights deal.
Clark becoming must-see television and delivering a never-ending stream of television ratings were obviously a major factor in that deal.
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What She’s Talking About
While it’s been readily apparent that some players don’t like having Caitlin Clark getting all of the attention in the WNBA – as evidenced by the numerous hard fouls she took last year – the complaints have also been off the court.
Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier, just last week, expressed surprise that the WNBA was focusing broadcast games on Clark more so than the defending league champions.
As reported at Bounding Into Sports, the Indiana Fever is set to dominate national airwaves like never before this coming season.
“Obviously, people want to watch Caitlin play, and you have to put the people on TV that people want to see. But, at the same time, there are stars all over the league, and you want good basketball, as well,” Collier said.
“Obviously, Indiana … will be a great team, but to not have the defending champs on TV more, I think it’s kind of crazy.”
Um, yeah. It’s because she’s more entertaining to watch. And, as Shaquille O’Neal has pointed out, Clark is doing something people have never seen before – a WNBA player hitting threes from the logo like Steph Curry.
According to The Athletic, 41 of Clark’s Indiana Fever’s 44 regular-season games will be nationally televised or streamed, the most of any team in the league.
Leslie understands why. Why doesn’t the rest of the league or it’s former players?
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