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If ahe had teammates that could shoot off the pass and not have to dribble all over she would have a lot more assists. They all want to play one on one and dribble too much.
>They all want to play one on one
That's what basketball culture and style is essentially becoming. Lebron talks about it in this clip:
https://old.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1bp1v0h/lebron_talks_about_how_he_has_a_bag_narrative/
Part if that is rule changes over the years putting more focus on the scorer. Part of that is promoting the superstar on the team. Part of that is coaching.
I’d argue the opposite is happening practically speaking, however, I wouldn’t necessarily disagree It’s what pop culture and media push because names bring in clicks and views.
The Boston Celtics just handily won a chip this year playing team basketball. To the point where people are still arguing which Jay is better but most (non-Celtics fans) agree neither is a bonafide Top player.
In the Eastern Conference, both the Knicks and Pacers went far into the playoffs playing team basketball. Neither team even has a super star, and the Pacers set the record for highest scoring offense in the league without having a single dude as their primary scorer.
UConn men also just won back to back championships shattering records in insanely dominant fashion playing team basketball, which is fascinating because basically every UConn champ team beforehand always had at least one or two absolute stars.
Coaches aren’t stupid. It can be hard to motivate adult professional atheletes, but if you do get them to buy in, team basketball will always beat out super star basketball.
The Nuggets last year played great team basketball too. And when the Warriors were dominating, it wasn't just because they had the best players dominating individually, they moved the ball a lot.
The Mavs whole game was have Kyrie or Luka win off the dribble, that doesn't work at the highest level when the stakes are highest. Sure you can get by in the regular season, and if you have a hot few games you can advance in the playoffs, but it isn't a consistent winning strategy in the NBA playoffs.
And then Americans become confused when in the FIBA World Cup, the European teams who all play team-oriented Basketball end up beating the one-on-one-focused USA team multiple times in the same competition.
That's one very small part of our problem. Another one is that we are hyperfocused on athleticism and the press. Europeans are content to watch us run our guts out until they smell an opportunity. Another is that at higher levels of play in the U.S. we let kids knock the shit out of each other and it becomes an arms race as to who can be the biggest and fastest, instead of who has the best touch. Another is we simply don't emphasize passing enough and the fact that we put so much emphasis on the press makes passing look like a less effective strategy.
So when we play some European team we run our guts out for the first 30 minutes, get tired, then they can press on us and control the middle. When we do get the ball we play like heroes and turn it over instead of controlling the pace of the game. We truly don't understand possession and everything from the coaching style to the ref culture does not support it.
Essentially, the USA plays one-dimensional basketball, so once the other teams realize that athleticism is all the US has, those teams quickly devise strategies to neutralize it.
Some catch and shoot players who can defend would probably be the best teammates for her skill set. Once she develops a reliable 15 ft jumper that’ll help a lot too
I feel like “the iso play” mindset is just such a part of American basketball culture; work on your dribble moves so that you can do the solo 1:1 heroics. I literally just got back from the rec center where 1/2 of the gym was a Middle School-aged girls team having a basketball practice/camp. The coach (after showing up 10 minutes late) had them do 45 minutes straight of dribble drills. I don’t know what they did later because I left, but WTH, what about passing, outlet passes, ball screens, off-ball screens, pick and roll, boxing out, cutting and offensive motion, defensive positioning, switches, … Just dribbling? I wonder if you made a pie chart of how time is spent at US vs European youth practices it would be pretty telling.
It’s not surprising at all. But reading a comment that points out a lack of talent on a team and then responding “I love this reply chain. I think it says a lot about where women’s pro BB is right now. I’ve been impressed by the level of play” is a non sequitur.
One of the things that Wayne Gretzky did was to go skate next to a third opponent if he was being double teamed. Made them choose to stick to triple teaming and left the rest of his team open... or give up the coverage and be wide open again. I don't know if this relates to basketball though.
Players with the most points in any sport are always dangerous scorers plus brilliant passers.
The defenders have to respect the shot at all times but they still get most points from passing because sometimes they get double teamed
Last night it felt a little like they were running an offense designed for Caitlin not to score very much. The game would have been a blowout early if the blonde teammate would have gotten hot from 3 or if the team as a whole had less oopsies after nice passes.
Kelsey Mitchell had an impressive game at least.
The gravity she has on the court is insane. Trying to score through constant double teams isn’t gonna work. She’s gotten comfortable with that and has been picking her spots.
Well when it's a generational talent, it works out a lot of the time. It's when people try to say every #1 pick is Lisa Leslie or Lebron, when it's really like every 10+ years you get a player like this.
Spurs know about this all too well. Three #1 picks, all 3 generational talents.
It works when the player is what the media actually says they are.
That's awesome on so many levels.
The girls get to see role models in action.
The dads (if any in your story) get to watch sports.
The girls might get more interested in sports and want to watch or play more, and as a non-dad but someone who imagines being a dad, I would be so stoked!
My daughter recently became a big fan of formula one, which is something I never really considered getting into. Now I’m watching every race, following behind the scenes drama and more, all because it’s a unique way to connect with her.
Is it really drama when it's just been Verstappen dominating for the past 3yrs? And Hamilton dominating before that?
When they held the Vegas Grand Prix last year, Verstappen already had the season won.
There's more to Formula one than the one driver who wins. Historically, the sport is usually dominated by one guy and constructor team that's way faster than the others. The drama, comes from positions 2-20.
This season is shaping up to be pretty damned good. McClaren and Ferrari are competing with Red Bull and you can still have incredible races like Canada last week.
That's both cute and hilarious that your kid might manage to pick a sport you know little about and probably never even watched considering all the possible sports that you did probably see at some point. (Although technically you could do this with any obscure thing, but if it were football or soccer or basketball or baseball or, heck, tennis, you'd already know a lot going in just due to having definitely seen a fair amount of stuff in the past even as a non‐fan)
Good call.
Just try and emphasise all the technical and engineering aspects of the sport to her. That way she may also be inspired to get into a field related to those topics as well.
I dont watch NBA so I'm not going to watch WNBA but I'll be damned if keeping up with the clickbait news cycle of the WNBA hasn't been fun. I've watched more WNBA highlights in the last month than all the rest combined and the Comets won 4 WNBA championships when I lived in Houston.
Can’t help but notice all the news coverage. Crazy how all the fans want to see her succeed while it seems everyone in the wnba is trying to take her out or hold her back.
Literally. They're paid by % of revenue and that % is still to y since it has no money.
They'll eventually get more in raw $ and more in %. They can cry all the way to their bigger paychecks
It’s almost as if these women who are professional basketball players have literally no idea that just 40 years ago the NBA almost died and then 2 rookies named Magic and Larry brought eyes to the game and everyone else became more popular and wealthy because of itb
At the same time I get why they are jealous even if it's not in their best interest or fair to Caitlin. Imagine putting everything you have into grinding away for ten years in obscurity all while hearing how worthless and unwatched the league is just for some young hotshot to garner 100% of the attention and accolades with everyone reinforcing their interest is only due to Caitlin and the league would still be worthless without her. They are human and it's natural to react like this even if they should see it for what it is, counterproductive and unfair, and try to rally around her.
Yeah, but she broke a TON of college records. She has the most career 3 pointers while also having the most assists in the ncaa her last 3 seasons in a row. She had the most triple doubles by far. She's very clearly a generational talent.
Imagine if other pros in the NBA treated Kobe and LeBron like this when they came in.
Toxic mentality though. I prefer the "Harry Mack" school of thought where building everyone up is better than putting 1 person down. If my co-worker won employee of the year but it gave everyone a bonus I'd be happy as hell for them even though I work just as hard. World will be so much better when people realize you get more flies with honey than vinegar.
Ok? My paycheck is getting bigger for my job. Thank you. It's just the tip of the iceberg though. People are watching her so people eventually will be watching you and overall viewership going up means maybe some little girl is watching sees you drain a 3 and suddenly you are her favorite. It's a process rarely do things change over night. Being positive is better than looking at the negatives.
I mean… isn’t that basically every job? You work hard you study hard probably you aren’t the best at your job and at some point some one younger and better than you shows up, and like 99% of the time they make more money and progress faster than you.
At least in this case everyone is going to eventually make more money…
Or it could be that you have been one of the few able to continue playing a sport you love for a league despite the fact that it's hemorrhaging money and had basically been a charity for years.
Well that’s good to hear. For me, even if players on other teams in the league have it out for her, at the very least I would hope that some of her teammates feel ok enough to have her back now and act like an actual team
It’s a good question. I can only guess because she probably wouldn’t have started on this particular team and it would have been a distraction. Since they are almost surely to win without her makes it less of a problem. But it does make the ratings on the games lower and you’d think they would want their future starter to get Olympic experience so I don’t get it either.
Part of the excuse for Caitlin being left off the roster was her “struggling” in her transition to the professional level. So I looked at her stats and a “struggling” Caitlin Clark is still a top league player, and that’s not even accounting for the fact that teams were double and triple teaming her.
she couldnt attend because she was busy playing in the final 4.
the coach of team USA also had some shady comments account Caitlin right before the draft and at the start of the season.
This above all else is the primary reason - protecting old women's feelings. Oh well, those old dinosaurs will be out of the league soon enough and the younger players will move the culture in a more positive direction.
It's been sad to see the women of the WNBA show such a bad side of themselves in this moment. When suddenly all the cameras were on them, and millions of fans started watching, instead of embracing the moment and doing their best to take advantage of all the attention, they chose pettiness, derision, and jealousy. Sad.
To promote the league, drive viewers and fans with ticket money, tv money and merchandise money toward the WNBA it would have made business sense to include her on the team. If the team is "going to win anyway" then she could easily have squeezed in 6-8 minutes a game and the team would still win. Also she excels at a skill set most of the others don't, the long range 3, and there might be times when that threat could have come in very handy. It was a dumb move to leave her off the team.
When the Olympic team was finalised (decided internally, before they announced it to the media), CC had barely any time in the league at all. They had no real information on how she would do in an environment where opponents were bigger, more experienced, etc etc.
Team USA could have added her for the media coverage like some have suggested, but on the pure team composition side, it was an unnecessary risk. Let’s not forget that the USA women’s team haven’t lost a game in likely 30 years
But the thing that they’re not doing is preparing the next generation for the responsibilities of carrying on this tradition.
Diana Taurasi speaks glowingly about how much the veterans mentored her when she made the Olympic team straight out of college… yet none of these dinosaurs want to mentor the next generation.
Pretty bald hypocrisy.
thats nonsense. Lebron was on the olympic team out of high school and others have been on the team having never played in the nba but only college. The wnba players are salty. The leagues is like 90% black lesbian. There was a player who left the league because she was being bullied so much for being straight. So now you have a straight white girl who is going to be the best player for a decade + and the salt is flowing
If they’ve not lost a game in ~30 years, that seems like a perfect place to absorb a risk, even if for no other reason than to bring a shit ton of media coverage to your team. Speaking for myself, I consider myself decently sports literate and I had no idea we’re on a ~30 year winning streak.
She was in the playoffs in college when the tryouts occurred, so she couldn’t join. Tbf, from college right to the pros right to the Olympics would also give her no time to rest at all. She definitely would benefit from a full professional offseason more than just continuing what would feel like a multi-year season.
I think it actually makes some sense. It's not that they don't see the value in her being on the team. It's that both the men's and women's Olympic teams for years now have tried to go straight up with the best players available. The women's team even moreso because this US women's team actually plays together pretty regularly and has stayed together. So to put Caitlyn in, it would mean taking off a player who is undeniably better than her right now and taking out a player who has been playing with this team for a while and has chemistry with the rest of the team.
I wish they'd change their strategy though. I think it makes sense to always allow two kind of wildcard spots for young up and comers to get the experience.
Politics. Selection for the US basketball teams have never been based on merit, plenty of snubs. As if this women needed another chip on her shoulder lol
She's not a has been. Her season stats are about even with Clark's. But she's playing with better teammates and not getting totally mugged on the court. Clark is better. But calling Taurasi a has been is wildly misinformed.
I'm just glad I can keep not watching women's Olympic basketball for another cycle. Leaves more time for the other sports, and takes up less prime time slots. This team will not see a television outside the semi-finals and finals.
I know.
Still though, I think we're better-off just enjoying the games, enjoying seeing her, her team, and even the league itself develop like this.
Not just because of Caitlin, but moreso because it's high-quality basketball, with frankly less of the high-stakes drama which we fans somehow got accustomed to for so many bullshit years in the NBA.
Clark either has the best manager in the business or she is just naturally classy.
Kinda thought she’d fold under all this pressure and scrutiny, jealous and racist opponents, it could’ve been a shit show.
But no, she’s been nothing but sportsmanship
It’s cool
Some articles for you and fyi Rookie of the Year is a lot closer than most people think:
[Angel Reese Vs Caitlin Clark](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/wnba/news/angel-reese-caitlin-clark-rookie-year-race-sky-fever/6814af01943c2712cee1e214) summary Angel Reese is leading rookies, great on ball defender, great rebounder are the reasons.
[Current Rookie Rankings](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2024/06/18/wnba-rookie-power-rankings-caitlin-clark-angel-reese/74126577007/) summary Caitlin Clark 1, Angel Reese 2. Number 1 needs to cut down her turnovers Number 2 needs to clean up her shooting.
[Which rookie has the edge?](https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/wnba/5-stats-show-angel-reese-ahead-caitlin-clark-rookie-year-race) Summary. Article says Angel Reese and says 5 stats to that show it, but goes on to talk about how Reese has scored more points in June. Clark has more points on the year. Author may be a little biased.
From what I’ve read over time:
Caitlin Clark - needs to get better defensively, limit her turnovers, and clean up her shooting
Angel Reese - needs to get better shooting the ball since she’s so close to the basket most time and lay off the villain role some.
The reason some give the edge to Angel Reese is because she ranks top 2 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
The reason some give the edge to Caitlin Clark is because she scores so smooth and is the most popular player the league has seen in awhile.
Friendly reminder we don’t have to put either down to praise the other.
It's going to be a long summer if we each game is a news item. I mean, good for the WNBA, but definitely tired of the general obsession with CC's every moment...on every 'side'.
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She's heating up
By not trying to score the most. She’s better when dishing first and scoring second
By trying to score though, she has convinced opponents to double team her … so working to her advantage that they think she can be selfish
She is just as good at passing as she is at shooting so it def plays right into her hands.
If ahe had teammates that could shoot off the pass and not have to dribble all over she would have a lot more assists. They all want to play one on one and dribble too much.
>They all want to play one on one That's what basketball culture and style is essentially becoming. Lebron talks about it in this clip: https://old.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1bp1v0h/lebron_talks_about_how_he_has_a_bag_narrative/ Part if that is rule changes over the years putting more focus on the scorer. Part of that is promoting the superstar on the team. Part of that is coaching.
I’d argue the opposite is happening practically speaking, however, I wouldn’t necessarily disagree It’s what pop culture and media push because names bring in clicks and views. The Boston Celtics just handily won a chip this year playing team basketball. To the point where people are still arguing which Jay is better but most (non-Celtics fans) agree neither is a bonafide Top player. In the Eastern Conference, both the Knicks and Pacers went far into the playoffs playing team basketball. Neither team even has a super star, and the Pacers set the record for highest scoring offense in the league without having a single dude as their primary scorer. UConn men also just won back to back championships shattering records in insanely dominant fashion playing team basketball, which is fascinating because basically every UConn champ team beforehand always had at least one or two absolute stars. Coaches aren’t stupid. It can be hard to motivate adult professional atheletes, but if you do get them to buy in, team basketball will always beat out super star basketball.
The Nuggets last year played great team basketball too. And when the Warriors were dominating, it wasn't just because they had the best players dominating individually, they moved the ball a lot. The Mavs whole game was have Kyrie or Luka win off the dribble, that doesn't work at the highest level when the stakes are highest. Sure you can get by in the regular season, and if you have a hot few games you can advance in the playoffs, but it isn't a consistent winning strategy in the NBA playoffs.
And then Americans become confused when in the FIBA World Cup, the European teams who all play team-oriented Basketball end up beating the one-on-one-focused USA team multiple times in the same competition.
That's one very small part of our problem. Another one is that we are hyperfocused on athleticism and the press. Europeans are content to watch us run our guts out until they smell an opportunity. Another is that at higher levels of play in the U.S. we let kids knock the shit out of each other and it becomes an arms race as to who can be the biggest and fastest, instead of who has the best touch. Another is we simply don't emphasize passing enough and the fact that we put so much emphasis on the press makes passing look like a less effective strategy. So when we play some European team we run our guts out for the first 30 minutes, get tired, then they can press on us and control the middle. When we do get the ball we play like heroes and turn it over instead of controlling the pace of the game. We truly don't understand possession and everything from the coaching style to the ref culture does not support it.
Essentially, the USA plays one-dimensional basketball, so once the other teams realize that athleticism is all the US has, those teams quickly devise strategies to neutralize it.
Is it fair to say the elite US NBA player probably doesn't care too much about anything but the NBA?
Yeah isolation ball has nearly ruined the team element
There's a reason they drafted first....
Some catch and shoot players who can defend would probably be the best teammates for her skill set. Once she develops a reliable 15 ft jumper that’ll help a lot too
I feel like “the iso play” mindset is just such a part of American basketball culture; work on your dribble moves so that you can do the solo 1:1 heroics. I literally just got back from the rec center where 1/2 of the gym was a Middle School-aged girls team having a basketball practice/camp. The coach (after showing up 10 minutes late) had them do 45 minutes straight of dribble drills. I don’t know what they did later because I left, but WTH, what about passing, outlet passes, ball screens, off-ball screens, pick and roll, boxing out, cutting and offensive motion, defensive positioning, switches, … Just dribbling? I wonder if you made a pie chart of how time is spent at US vs European youth practices it would be pretty telling.
I love this reply chain. I think it says a lot about where women’s pro BB is now. I’ve been impressed with the level of play
In what way? The comment is that her teammates aren’t talented enough and the play is worse than it should be.
The team with the top overall draft pick isn’t very good? Odd.
It’s almost like Indiana got the number one pick because they were complete shit the previous year.
It’s not surprising at all. But reading a comment that points out a lack of talent on a team and then responding “I love this reply chain. I think it says a lot about where women’s pro BB is right now. I’ve been impressed by the level of play” is a non sequitur.
Hot take: Caitlin Clark is good at basketball
lol and the team sucks. That's why she's there. It's almost like people are just jumping in commenting without knowing how drafts work.
One of the things that Wayne Gretzky did was to go skate next to a third opponent if he was being double teamed. Made them choose to stick to triple teaming and left the rest of his team open... or give up the coverage and be wide open again. I don't know if this relates to basketball though.
Players with the most points in any sport are always dangerous scorers plus brilliant passers. The defenders have to respect the shot at all times but they still get most points from passing because sometimes they get double teamed
She just has to find the balance based on what the defense is giving her.
Last night it felt a little like they were running an offense designed for Caitlin not to score very much. The game would have been a blowout early if the blonde teammate would have gotten hot from 3 or if the team as a whole had less oopsies after nice passes. Kelsey Mitchell had an impressive game at least.
She had the game high in points 2 of the last 4 games.
She’s been dishing all season… but it doesn’t help when her teammates can’t buy a bucket.
The gravity she has on the court is insane. Trying to score through constant double teams isn’t gonna work. She’s gotten comfortable with that and has been picking her spots.
yeah but her teammates can't fucking score either half the time
Boomshakalaka!
Wild shot! No good!
From Downtown!
Get that shot outta here!
Is it the shoes?!
One might say she’s about to….break a fever
I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more caitlin
*Gregg Doyel sheepishly enters the chat*
That one is saying that she’s about to break her team.
Now I want WNBA Jam
She’s angry, they awoke a monster
Get your all-star vote in before it’s too late!
They woke up the beast. Olympics snub?? She took that personally
She's on Fire! Boom Shakalaka!
Balls back
Fun game to watch... Team is really coming together.
This and their last game with the Sky were so much fun, I can’t wait to see Fagbenle come back on the court.
What did you call me?
I think the pope used that term just last week……
Can we keep it classy around here? My kids subscribe to this sub.
This is what every tanking team thinks will happen when they get the first pick in the draft lol.
Well when it's a generational talent, it works out a lot of the time. It's when people try to say every #1 pick is Lisa Leslie or Lebron, when it's really like every 10+ years you get a player like this. Spurs know about this all too well. Three #1 picks, all 3 generational talents. It works when the player is what the media actually says they are.
Love to see it. I’ve got two friends who’ve taken their daughters to the games in Indianapolis.
That's awesome on so many levels. The girls get to see role models in action. The dads (if any in your story) get to watch sports. The girls might get more interested in sports and want to watch or play more, and as a non-dad but someone who imagines being a dad, I would be so stoked!
My daughter recently became a big fan of formula one, which is something I never really considered getting into. Now I’m watching every race, following behind the scenes drama and more, all because it’s a unique way to connect with her.
If you like the drama, F1 is definitely the right spot. If you want some racing too in cars that look similar, Indycar may be of interest.
IndyCar is full of drama this season. McLaren alone is a soap opera.
Is it really drama when it's just been Verstappen dominating for the past 3yrs? And Hamilton dominating before that? When they held the Vegas Grand Prix last year, Verstappen already had the season won.
There's more to Formula one than the one driver who wins. Historically, the sport is usually dominated by one guy and constructor team that's way faster than the others. The drama, comes from positions 2-20.
This season is shaping up to be pretty damned good. McClaren and Ferrari are competing with Red Bull and you can still have incredible races like Canada last week.
That's both cute and hilarious that your kid might manage to pick a sport you know little about and probably never even watched considering all the possible sports that you did probably see at some point. (Although technically you could do this with any obscure thing, but if it were football or soccer or basketball or baseball or, heck, tennis, you'd already know a lot going in just due to having definitely seen a fair amount of stuff in the past even as a non‐fan)
She discovered it thru YouTube and TikTok. Ive shown her different sports but nothing she took to like f1 so, here we are!
Good call. Just try and emphasise all the technical and engineering aspects of the sport to her. That way she may also be inspired to get into a field related to those topics as well.
Easiest way to be a dad is have sex with women.
> have sex with women I spotted the flaw in your otherwise flawless strategy
I'm a die hard Indiana sports fan but never even been to Indiana. I wanna go to a Pacers and Fever game so bad! Colts too while I'm at it
Love to see her overcome the BS that’s thrown her way
Remember though, she’s overrated and people aren’t tuning in just to watch her…
I dont watch NBA so I'm not going to watch WNBA but I'll be damned if keeping up with the clickbait news cycle of the WNBA hasn't been fun. I've watched more WNBA highlights in the last month than all the rest combined and the Comets won 4 WNBA championships when I lived in Houston.
ReAlItY iS cOmInG. The UConn contingent is in shambles right now.
I hope CC torches the league for years. Revenge is a dish best served averaging double-doubles.
Can’t help but notice all the news coverage. Crazy how all the fans want to see her succeed while it seems everyone in the wnba is trying to take her out or hold her back.
Jealously is a helluva drug. They should be rooting for her. Superstars are rising tides.
Literally. They're paid by % of revenue and that % is still to y since it has no money. They'll eventually get more in raw $ and more in %. They can cry all the way to their bigger paychecks
It’s almost as if these women who are professional basketball players have literally no idea that just 40 years ago the NBA almost died and then 2 rookies named Magic and Larry brought eyes to the game and everyone else became more popular and wealthy because of itb
At the same time I get why they are jealous even if it's not in their best interest or fair to Caitlin. Imagine putting everything you have into grinding away for ten years in obscurity all while hearing how worthless and unwatched the league is just for some young hotshot to garner 100% of the attention and accolades with everyone reinforcing their interest is only due to Caitlin and the league would still be worthless without her. They are human and it's natural to react like this even if they should see it for what it is, counterproductive and unfair, and try to rally around her.
Yeah, but she broke a TON of college records. She has the most career 3 pointers while also having the most assists in the ncaa her last 3 seasons in a row. She had the most triple doubles by far. She's very clearly a generational talent. Imagine if other pros in the NBA treated Kobe and LeBron like this when they came in.
Toxic mentality though. I prefer the "Harry Mack" school of thought where building everyone up is better than putting 1 person down. If my co-worker won employee of the year but it gave everyone a bonus I'd be happy as hell for them even though I work just as hard. World will be so much better when people realize you get more flies with honey than vinegar.
People are watching more Fever games but who is watching games not involving her or talking about them?
Ok? My paycheck is getting bigger for my job. Thank you. It's just the tip of the iceberg though. People are watching her so people eventually will be watching you and overall viewership going up means maybe some little girl is watching sees you drain a 3 and suddenly you are her favorite. It's a process rarely do things change over night. Being positive is better than looking at the negatives.
I mean… isn’t that basically every job? You work hard you study hard probably you aren’t the best at your job and at some point some one younger and better than you shows up, and like 99% of the time they make more money and progress faster than you. At least in this case everyone is going to eventually make more money…
Or it could be that you have been one of the few able to continue playing a sport you love for a league despite the fact that it's hemorrhaging money and had basically been a charity for years.
It's natural to feel like this, it's human to struggle to overcome it, it's vicious to fail to do so.
That just means they were already mad and her existence reminded them of it and they don’t have the maturity or intelligence to react appropriately
they are literally trying to take out the cash cow because it isnt them. Ive never seen anything like it in sports... really sucks WNBA
"reality is coming" but not for CC
Who tried to assasinate her last night? I can’t keep up with all the near attempts on her life.
Is her team starting to look like they’re with her more or is she still looking like an island?
Definitely more with her, which is why they’re actually winning. Clark and Boston have really figured out how to play together and it’s fun to watch.
Well that’s good to hear. For me, even if players on other teams in the league have it out for her, at the very least I would hope that some of her teammates feel ok enough to have her back now and act like an actual team
Just let her cook, she gonna be just fine.
She a dog
She got that dawg in her
4th straight ...3 straight at home....
The haters are seething
I will never understand why they left her off the Olympic squad.
It’s a good question. I can only guess because she probably wouldn’t have started on this particular team and it would have been a distraction. Since they are almost surely to win without her makes it less of a problem. But it does make the ratings on the games lower and you’d think they would want their future starter to get Olympic experience so I don’t get it either.
To protect the feelings of the veteran players
Part of the excuse for Caitlin being left off the roster was her “struggling” in her transition to the professional level. So I looked at her stats and a “struggling” Caitlin Clark is still a top league player, and that’s not even accounting for the fact that teams were double and triple teaming her.
They also said it was she didn’t attend any of the training camps… that she wasn’t invited to
she couldnt attend because she was busy playing in the final 4. the coach of team USA also had some shady comments account Caitlin right before the draft and at the start of the season.
And those bitches blindly assaulting her.
"FIBA Too Phyiscal" - like how much more than the beatings she's getting now?
This above all else is the primary reason - protecting old women's feelings. Oh well, those old dinosaurs will be out of the league soon enough and the younger players will move the culture in a more positive direction. It's been sad to see the women of the WNBA show such a bad side of themselves in this moment. When suddenly all the cameras were on them, and millions of fans started watching, instead of embracing the moment and doing their best to take advantage of all the attention, they chose pettiness, derision, and jealousy. Sad.
To promote the league, drive viewers and fans with ticket money, tv money and merchandise money toward the WNBA it would have made business sense to include her on the team. If the team is "going to win anyway" then she could easily have squeezed in 6-8 minutes a game and the team would still win. Also she excels at a skill set most of the others don't, the long range 3, and there might be times when that threat could have come in very handy. It was a dumb move to leave her off the team.
Leaving her off the team is definitely a great way to not have it be a distraction!
Veteranship I guess 🤷♂️ But look at the bright side she is getting more experienced playing with the pros. I really hope this ‘awakened the monster’.
30 years from now: *and I took that personally.*
When the Olympic team was finalised (decided internally, before they announced it to the media), CC had barely any time in the league at all. They had no real information on how she would do in an environment where opponents were bigger, more experienced, etc etc. Team USA could have added her for the media coverage like some have suggested, but on the pure team composition side, it was an unnecessary risk. Let’s not forget that the USA women’s team haven’t lost a game in likely 30 years
But the thing that they’re not doing is preparing the next generation for the responsibilities of carrying on this tradition. Diana Taurasi speaks glowingly about how much the veterans mentored her when she made the Olympic team straight out of college… yet none of these dinosaurs want to mentor the next generation. Pretty bald hypocrisy.
They're jealous of Caitlin
You think they’d lose a game if they rostered Clark instead of some veteran for the 12th spot? I sure don’t.
It would have made the game more popular. As you said they haven't lost since 1992. So it's either petty politics or lack of long term vision.
thats nonsense. Lebron was on the olympic team out of high school and others have been on the team having never played in the nba but only college. The wnba players are salty. The leagues is like 90% black lesbian. There was a player who left the league because she was being bullied so much for being straight. So now you have a straight white girl who is going to be the best player for a decade + and the salt is flowing
If they’ve not lost a game in ~30 years, that seems like a perfect place to absorb a risk, even if for no other reason than to bring a shit ton of media coverage to your team. Speaking for myself, I consider myself decently sports literate and I had no idea we’re on a ~30 year winning streak.
She was in the playoffs in college when the tryouts occurred, so she couldn’t join. Tbf, from college right to the pros right to the Olympics would also give her no time to rest at all. She definitely would benefit from a full professional offseason more than just continuing what would feel like a multi-year season.
I think it actually makes some sense. It's not that they don't see the value in her being on the team. It's that both the men's and women's Olympic teams for years now have tried to go straight up with the best players available. The women's team even moreso because this US women's team actually plays together pretty regularly and has stayed together. So to put Caitlyn in, it would mean taking off a player who is undeniably better than her right now and taking out a player who has been playing with this team for a while and has chemistry with the rest of the team. I wish they'd change their strategy though. I think it makes sense to always allow two kind of wildcard spots for young up and comers to get the experience.
Politics. Selection for the US basketball teams have never been based on merit, plenty of snubs. As if this women needed another chip on her shoulder lol
Insecure veterans.
imagine leaving this off the Olympic roster for a 41 year old has been
She's not a has been. Her season stats are about even with Clark's. But she's playing with better teammates and not getting totally mugged on the court. Clark is better. But calling Taurasi a has been is wildly misinformed.
I'm just glad I can keep not watching women's Olympic basketball for another cycle. Leaves more time for the other sports, and takes up less prime time slots. This team will not see a television outside the semi-finals and finals.
I know. Still though, I think we're better-off just enjoying the games, enjoying seeing her, her team, and even the league itself develop like this. Not just because of Caitlin, but moreso because it's high-quality basketball, with frankly less of the high-stakes drama which we fans somehow got accustomed to for so many bullshit years in the NBA.
i hope her teammates have decided to woman-up.
Put on their big girl pants as it were.
She’s the reason why I’ve watched a few wnba and women’s college basketball games this year. Never watched either one before
When she learns the game and the WNBA shes gonna score 40 points a night
TIL CC doesn’t know the game of basketball
When the Fever head into Chicago to face Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky this weekend -- prepare for Ratings Maximus again.
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Damn
I must be OOTL cause I'm sensing some tension in the comments. What's the issue people have with this player?
WDOA! W411! Don't care take the UFL with you!
Clark either has the best manager in the business or she is just naturally classy. Kinda thought she’d fold under all this pressure and scrutiny, jealous and racist opponents, it could’ve been a shit show. But no, she’s been nothing but sportsmanship It’s cool
Yet she wouldn't have been able to help the Olympics team because she wasn't one of the top 12 best players and didn't have enough experience 🤯🤯🤯
sHe sHOulD qUIt wNBa
C.C. is a class act, I just hope she survives the thuggery of the WNBA.
Sounds like she's teaching her team how to be a team.
Can anyone point me to a direct stat comparison of Caitlyn vs reese?
Some articles for you and fyi Rookie of the Year is a lot closer than most people think: [Angel Reese Vs Caitlin Clark](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/wnba/news/angel-reese-caitlin-clark-rookie-year-race-sky-fever/6814af01943c2712cee1e214) summary Angel Reese is leading rookies, great on ball defender, great rebounder are the reasons. [Current Rookie Rankings](https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2024/06/18/wnba-rookie-power-rankings-caitlin-clark-angel-reese/74126577007/) summary Caitlin Clark 1, Angel Reese 2. Number 1 needs to cut down her turnovers Number 2 needs to clean up her shooting. [Which rookie has the edge?](https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/wnba/5-stats-show-angel-reese-ahead-caitlin-clark-rookie-year-race) Summary. Article says Angel Reese and says 5 stats to that show it, but goes on to talk about how Reese has scored more points in June. Clark has more points on the year. Author may be a little biased. From what I’ve read over time: Caitlin Clark - needs to get better defensively, limit her turnovers, and clean up her shooting Angel Reese - needs to get better shooting the ball since she’s so close to the basket most time and lay off the villain role some. The reason some give the edge to Angel Reese is because she ranks top 2 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. The reason some give the edge to Caitlin Clark is because she scores so smooth and is the most popular player the league has seen in awhile. Friendly reminder we don’t have to put either down to praise the other.
It's going to be a long summer if we each game is a news item. I mean, good for the WNBA, but definitely tired of the general obsession with CC's every moment...on every 'side'.