Following a challenging WNBA debut, some fans appear to have turned against Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark—at least a few of them.
A segment of the basketball fanbase seemed to anticipate her struggles, which partially materialized on Tuesday night. While Clark scored 20 points, she also set a WNBA record for the most turnovers in a player’s first game.
Not long after, a comment from longtime WNBA star Diana Taurasi resurfaced on social media.
“Look, SVP, reality is coming. There’s levels to this thing,” Taurasi said a few weeks ago. “That’s just life. We all went through it. You see it on the NBA side, and you’re going to see it on this side. You look superhuman playing against some 18-year-olds but you’re going to come play with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time.”
In light of the criticism Clark faced after her debut, former NBA player and champion Nick Young took to X—formerly known as Twitter—to defend her.
“If the WNBA wants bigger ratings, build Clark up and stop trying to tear her down. Y’all trying to Lonzo Ball her so bad,” he said.
Clark will have a chance to redeem herself on Thursday night in a game against the New York Liberty.
