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NFL legend Shannon Sharpe went on the defensive on Monday after Caitlin Clark was named the AP WNBA Rookie of the 12 months.
Clark had a protracted 2024 season crammed with questions and scrutiny about how her recreation would translate from faculty to the WNBA with the noise rising because the Indiana Fever began the season 1-8.
However the sharpshooter blocked out the noise, and as she grew acclimated to the league, she thrived. She set WNBA rookie and single-game information on her solution to an All-Star look. She then helped the Fever to a sixth seed after the Olympics break.
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Clark was named the AP WNBA Rookie of the 12 months and was chosen for the All-WNBA First Group. Sharpe, on ESPN’s “First Take,” lambasted her critics.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t say this,” he stated. “Quite a lot of this noise got here from folks sitting on this community. They tried to attenuate her, saying, ‘You’re giving her all this credit score, what concerning the ladies that got here earlier than her?’ What the ladies got here earlier than her, what they did, can’t be taken away. That ain’t bought nothing to do with Caitlin Clark. However there have been lots of people that attempted to ensure to maintain Caitlin Clark in her place as a result of what you’re doing, when you give her all this shine, you decrease what they completed.”
Sharpe stated praising Clark and recognizing her recreation didn’t diminish what a few of the greats did, however “we should always’ve been giving her the credit score” all alongside.
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“We noticed the rankings, we noticed the merchandise gross sales, we [saw] all of the attendance, however you all wish to make it about one thing else,” he added. “‘Oh, however what concerning the ladies that laid the muse? What about this?’ What about it? That ain’t bought nothing to do with Caitlin Clark.
“Caitlin Clark is field workplace. She’s doing this. And as an alternative of giving her credit score, you all are attempting to make it about, ‘Oh, you all pooh-poohing the previous guard.’ You all by no means talked concerning the previous guard like this. Nah, I ain’t gonna let it slide.”
The Fever guard broke the league’s single-season help mark (337) and scored probably the most factors ever for a rookie (769) en path to main Indiana to the postseason.
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Clark began all 40 regular-season video games for the Fever and averaged 19.2 factors per recreation. She was the primary rookie to file a triple-double and the primary participant in Fever franchise historical past to file a triple-double. She set the WNBA file for many assists in a recreation with 19 in opposition to the Dallas Wings in July.
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