Women's Fastbreak On SI

Lisa Leslie Shuts Down ESPN's Caitlin Clark College GOAT Snub Stance

Basketball legend Lisa Leslie weighed in on whether a player needs a NCAA championship to be called a college basketball GOAT.

Grant Young

Jul 20, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Former basketball player Lisa Leslie arrives at the Red Carpet for the 2022 ESPY at Dolby Theater. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Jul 20, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Former basketball player Lisa Leslie arrives at the Red Carpet for the 2022 ESPY at Dolby Theater. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark has unwillingly found herself at the center of another polarizing basketball debate in recent weeks, ever since three ESPN analysts snubbed her when ranking the top five NCAA women's basketball players of all time.

In explaining this reasoning, analyst Ari Chambers said, "In the open, we said, 'What makes a top-five player? Winning.' The only thing, the only strike against Caitlin Clark, is that she has not won a National Championship... But how can you be a top-five player if you have not won a title?"

Clark was then taken out of the No. 5 spot in the ranking, which she had previously occupied.

This has sparked a ton of discussion within women's basketball, prompting icons such as Sue Bird to support Clark by saying she undoubtedly deserves to be considered one of (if not the) women's college basketball GOAT.

Basketball legend Lisa Leslie is the most recent person to back Clark up in this regard, which she did in a March 28 interview with USA Today Sports.

"Absolutely not," Leslie said when asked whether an NCAA championship is needed for a women's basketball player to be considered a GOAT. "I didn't win an NCAA championship. I was National Player of the Year, I won all the individual awards. But it's very hard to win a national championship, regardless of how much people talk about it, like 'Oh, you have to have it.'

"It is one of the hardest things to do in a tournament, when you have so many games and you're trying to get there," Leslie added. "So yeah, shoutout to all of the players who were able to win national championships, but it doesn't make a player who didn't win a national championship any less of an amazing individual player, and the possibility of being in talks of being a GOAT, for sure."

While Leslie didn't cite Clark specifically, it's clear that she's a part of the context. And it's hard to argue with Leslie's sentiment.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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