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“She poured gasoline all over” – 4x WNBA champion credits Caitlin Clark’s ‘antidote’ for silencing mockery of women’s league

4x WNBA champion credits Caitlin Clark’s ‘antidote’ for silencing mockery of women’s league (Image Source: Imagn)

Four-time champion Sue Bird praised Caitlin Clark for ending the WNBA’s mockery. The women’s league didn’t receive much support for years, with many questioning the players’ skills and comparing it to the NBA. Except for less than a handful of players, nobody ever dunked in the WNBA, and that made everyone feel like the league was easy to play in and didn’t warrant attention.

However, Bird thinks Clark had the “antidote” to that narrative. During an appearance on the latest episode of “The Deal” podcast with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, released Wednesday, Bird said:

“We (WNBA) were the butt of the jokes and it was really hard to break through.”

Bird added that the league had “moments” with a legend like Kobe Bryant donning a WNBA hoodie and more, but the real game changer was Clark.

“All of a sudden, this player named Caitlin Clark comes,” Bird said. “And the way I frame it is, fire was going, it was burning, it was burning and it was burning brighter.

“Like even if you look at the 2023 viewership in the WNBA finals, it was way higher than 2022. It was starting the fire was starting, but Caitlin came and she poured gasoline all over that thing and just took it to another level.

“When she broke through, I think, with her logo 3s, it was we finally had the antidote to dunking.”

Sue Bird summarized that Caitlin Clark ended the narrative around viewers thinking it was easy to play against WNBA players because they couldn’t dunk with her incredible 3-point shooting range.

Caitlin Clark’s average shot distance was higher than Steph Curry and Damian Lillard at one point

Caitlin Clark’s incredible rookie year drew a lot of eyeballs to the WNBA. Viewership soared across the board as the WNBA recorded the most-watched season in 24 years and the highest attendance record in 22 years. Clark mesmerized everyone with her unusual prowess on the court, especially on offense.

One of the things that stood out about her rookie year was her shot range. Per Stat Mamba, through 28 games into the year, Clark’s average shot distance from 3 was 28.09 feet. That was higher than Steph Curry, Damian Lillard and Trae Young’s best. Curry’s highest was 27.58, Lillard’s 27.68 and Young’s 27.94.

Clark averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.4 assists (league-high). She didn’t have an efficient season, shooting 41.1%, including 34.4%. However, Clark took time to adjust. Her numbers picked up in the second half of the season.

Caitlin Clark won the Rookie of the Year with a near-unanimous vote, receiving 66 of 67 votes and fourth in the MVP race behind winner A’ja Wilson, runner-up Napheesa Collier and third-placed Breanna Stewart.