Monday, November 4, 2024

“Most Impactful Women’s Basketball Player”: Caitlin Clark’s Effect on WNBA Gets Hinted to Stephen Curry’s Influence by Sports Journalist

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Ever since she stepped into the league, Caitlin Clark has been on her way to creating her own legacy in the W, with most of the flocking attention coming along with her from college. The Caitlin Clark effect is real as the league’s viewership and marketability have grown. However, the Indiana Fever rookie has often been compared to Golden State Warriors guard, Stephen Curry. Something that was again hinted at by the sports journalist Jemele Hill.

The comparison stems from the fact that they can make seasoned shots beyond the arc. Throughout his NBA career, Curry has shot 42.6%, while Clark is currently shooting at 32.2% beyond the arc. It is her athletic prowess that has made her the topic of every sports-related conversation that revolves around either basketball, setting new trends in the game, or simply breaking a record.

Revolving around the same, sports journalist, Jemele Hill talks about Clark being the most impactful basketball athlete who has singlehandedly transformed the league for good. “Once you bring Caitlyn Clark to the league, things take off on a totally new unprecedented level than what we’ve ever seen. She’s the most impactful women’s basketball player that we’ve seen in maybe generations,” Hill said, via The Rich Eisen Show.

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She further praised Clark for her ability to draw the audience with her modernly evolved playing style and logo 3s, which is most common with Stephen Curry, who has made 3,747 3-pointers in his NBA career so far.

USA Today via Reuters

“We know how infatuated people are with the three-pointer given the fact that I think, now we’re at a point where people would kind of rather see the Three-Point Contest than probably see the dunk contest at NBA All-Star Weekend. So, she’s bringing all of these very new elements to the game,” Hill mentioned how Clark has brought the new elements into the sport and the popularity of making 3-pointers has grown.

Moving forward with the conversation, Hill elaborated on how the league has been in the spotlight since Clark’s emergence in the W. Let’s see how Clark has benefitted the league in terms of visibility.

WNBA’s rising popularity with credits to Caitlin Clark

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Giving an elevation to Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese as being the Magic and Bird of the NBA of that time, Hill talked about how they transformed the men’s league and how it has played out well for the WNBA. She said, “The WNBA is generating a lot of media attention that it didn’t before…but sometimes the media needs to be drug into covering something by a personality, by a rivalry, by whatever, the same way the NBA took off with Magic and Bird. I mean it’s very similar with her and Angel Reese. So, we’re at a really good healthy point in terms of attention and eyes that are on the league.” 

No matter how cliched it sounds, the said rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese has caught the attention of countless fans. Although, this rivalry hasn’t been acknowledged by either. But, it is one of the major reasons why people flock out just to see them play.

Most recently too, the disruptions between Reese’s Sky teammate, Chennedy Carter with Clark made things more intense from a discussion standpoint, bringing Clark in the middle of everything going around. However, she didn’t retaliate and let her game talk the talk.

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For more such updates, tune into our platform, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video:

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