Back In The Day NBA

NBA Great Isiah Thomas Says He Loves The Attention Caitlin Clark Is Bringing To WNBA

Shandel Richardson

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is not only the talk of the WNBA.

She's also the talk of the NBA and other sports league. It seems everyone is commenting on her helping bring more popularity to women's basketball. During a recent appearance on OutKick’s Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakichormer podcast, former Detroit Pistons All-Star Isiah Thomas said he is a fan of Clark helping boost ratings

“I actually, love the attention that Caitlyn has brought to the WNBA," Thomas said. "I love the attention that women's basketball is getting. But for too long the media hasn't really shined a light on the WNBA, athletically and competitively. You know, they'll give it a nod every now and then, but now, since Caitlyn has arrived and she had a great college career and she was fantastic to watch, you're curious you want to see it go on."

Not everyone is a fan of the Clark hoopla. Some feel she is taking attention from the more established players. A national controversy was created when Clark was left off this summer's Olympics team. There was also the hard foul by Chennedy Carter on Clark that also created country-wide news.

Still, Thomas said the "controversy" will help the game grow.


"So I think it's great what she's done," Thomas said. "And I think it's great what the media, the WNBA, marketing and the players are doing because, you know, controversy is not good, but controversy sells. And whether the NBA wants to admit it or not, the NBA, the steps that it made to get to the place that it said, from a fan appeal standpoint is that, you know, the NBA over the years had to go through some very controversial moments, and they stepped up and they met the challenge. And the WNBA, I think, is in its 26 or 20 seventh year of existence. And you know, it, it's going to go through those controversial moments. And I have no doubt that they'll step up and meet the challenge.”

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com