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During her Thursday night hosting of the 2024 ESPY Awards, tennis legend Serena Williams made a funny joke about Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark.
Best Athlete in Women’s Sports, Best Record-breaking Performance, and Best College Athlete in Women’s Sports were the three ESPYs for which the rookie WNBA player was nominated.
Among the many subjects mentioned in Serena Williams’ introductory monologue was Caitlin Clark’s remarkable ascent in the sports world, especially her influence on basketball.
Williams made a hilarious argument for her analogy, drawing parallels between Clark and NBA great Larry Bird.
Williams compared himself to Larry Bird, saying, “You are the same guy—you’re a phenomenal player, you’re from Indiana, and white people love you.”
With her incisive analogy, Williams skillfully demonstrated why Clark is today regarded as one of the most notable athletes in a variety of sports.
Comparing Caitlin Clark to Larry Bird, Serena Williams pointed out that Clark’s current rise has a similar impact on the NBA to Bird’s 1978 NBA draft selection from Indiana State University.
Although facing difficulties with the Fever, Caitlin Clark had an outstanding first season as a professional athlete, finishing with a 9–12 record. At 16.7 points and 7.6 assists per game on average, she leads all rookies.
After scoring 3,951 points in four seasons with the Iowa women’s basketball team, the former Iowa Hawkeye created NCAA history by breaking the all-time scoring record for men’s and women’s basketball players.
Her excellent game averages of 28.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game were maintained throughout her collegiate career.
No other professional basketball player in the NBA or WNBA has ever matched the historic effort the Indiana rookie put on against the Washington Mystics on Wednesday afternoon.
Finished with 29 points, 13 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 3-pointers made, 5 blocks, and 3 steals, Clark was unstoppable. According to the WNBA, she made history by being the first player in the NBA or WNBA to accomplish all these marks in a single game.
Additionally, according to the Indiana Fever, she was the first player in the history of the WNBA to “have 25+ points, 10+ assists, 5+ rebounds, 5+ steals, and 5+ three-pointers in a game.”
As the first rookie in the 27-year history of the WNBA to record a triple-double, Clark created history. Being the only player to do so in her team’s 24-year existence, she also reached a milestone for the organization. After multiple near misses in earlier games, this accomplishment came about.
The Fever defeated the league-leading New York Liberty club with to Clark’s game-winning triple-double. Her team’s most important victory of the season was secured by her 19 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds.
Since 2014, only two rookies have been chosen as All-Stars in the same season: Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Placing second overall behind A’ja Wilson, Clark led the league in fan voting with an incredible 700,735. With 381,518 fan votes, Reese took fifth place.
Their influence went much beyond their gameplay and had a big impact on the dynamics of the league as a whole. Voting for WNBA All-Stars increased by 597% as compared to the previous season.
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