Caitlin Clark is the new Taylor Swift, at least of the WNBA, according to the Hall of Fame star Nancy Lieberman as she compares the 22-year-old Indiana Fever ace to the 34-year-old Eras Tour icon.
The overall first pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft has been a divisive figure in her debut professional season of basketball despite her evidently immense talent, with critics such as Sheryl Swoopes suggesting she is overrated.
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But one of her most vocal defenders is Lieberman, 1984 champion and MVP as well as current NBA analyst, who likened her impact on the women’s game to that of Swift when she broke onto the music scene in 2009.
“It doesn’t matter who people fancy at the moment,” Lieberman told SiriusXM NBA Radio. “It’s Caitlin Clark. She’s the Taylor Swift of women’s basketball right now.
“Her fans are like Swifties; they’re extraordinarily loyal. And in every arena you go into, half the people there are her fans wearing her jerseys.
“She’s a media superstar, but damn – she’s backed it up every step of the way.”
Clark has smashed records for television ratings, attendance numbers (so much that the Fever have to use the Indiana Pacers’ stadium) and merchandise sold as well as becoming the WNBA Player of the Month and Rookie of the Month in August.
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The 22-year-old is currently averaging 19 points per game, 8.4 assists per game and 5.8 rebounds per game in 2024, earning her MVP shouts alongside the Las Vegas Aces‘ A’ja Wilson after the Fever booked their postseason ticket.
Indiana have lost five times in 15 games since July 3 (.666) to turn their season around, with Clark particularly starring by shooting for 343 points in that run (22.8 per game).
They next take on the Atlanta Dream at the Gainbridge FieldHouse in Inidanapolis on Sunday, September 8 at 16:00 ET/13:00 PT.
