NBA commissioner Adam Silver is just the latest to weigh in on Caitlin Clark, and he may have given the best take of anybody.
Just before the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks battled in game three of the NBA Finals, Adam Silver was asked about the rookie’s star power and the growth of the WNBA.
During the interview, Silver made his prediction of Clark’s future very clear, saying, “She’s going to deliver,” while speaking on the weight Clark has on her shoulders.
He also added that it is unfair for her to already be “anointed” as such in her rookie season.
“I think Caitlin, though, she’s ultimately got to be prove it on the floor,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in response to Malika Andrews’ question. “You can’t anoint stars in this league. There’s other names that weren’t on your list that were gonna be the next fill-in-the-blank, and they turned out not to be just because of their performance. I believe she’s going to deliver. She seems to have the character and the drive and the will and the talent, but let her evolve as a player. I want to take the pressure off her, not put more pressure on her.”
Following a run with the Iowa Hawkeyes, where she broke numerous records and put her team in the National Championship game in back-to-back years, Caitlin Clark entered the WNBA with massive expectations, with many people willing to put her as the face of the league without her playing a single professional game.
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It has been quite the struggle for Clark as for as team record and playing well since she commands so much attention every night from players who do not want to end up on highlights.
Also Read: VIDEO: Caitlin Clark Totally Broke A Kid’s Spirit By Dominating Him In 1-On-1 At A Charity Event
Despite her struggles, it cannot go unnoticed that Caitlin Clark’s celebrity status has helped boost viewership and revenue for the WNBA, which opened the 2024 campaign with its highest attendance in some 26 years and has the most-watched games ever on national TV, the league stated in a press release.
Caitlin Clark Gets Left Off Olympic Team
The USA Women’s Basketball roster for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games came out, but Caitlin Clark was not on it.
She has been one of the most talked-about basketball players in the country and is credited with advancing the game in terms of popularity, but that wasn’t enough for her to be put on the team.
Jen Rizzotti, the chair of the selection committee for the Olympic team, told The Associated Press that the selections were based on skills.
“Here’s the basketball criteria that we were given as a committee and how do we evaluate our players based on that?” Rizzotti said. “And when you base your decision on criteria, there were other players that were harder to cut because they checked a lot more boxes. Then sometimes it comes down to position, style of play for [head coach] Cheryl [Reeve], and then sometimes a vote.”
