Sheryl Swoopes Will Always Have Caitlin Clark Beat In This Stat
One of the most unexpected (and disheartening) storylines of this WNBA season is women's basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes' apparent refusal to credit Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark for her staggering success.
There are been multiple examples of this (which have all been well-covered by sports media) that have caused Swoopes to try and defend herself by sharing private text messages between her and Clark, and which has cost her a friendship with sports broadcaster Nancy Lieberman.
While Swoopes hasn't mentioned anything regarding Clark in recent weeks, the two were connected once more when Clark scored a WNBA career-high 35 points during a win over the Dallas Wings on September 15.
This was notable because Clark's 35 points was more than Swoopes ever scored in a single WNBA game across her 12-season WNBA career.
They said it not me pic.twitter.com/4scjPqeNcO
— Talking WNBA (@TalkingWNBA) September 15, 2024
While this brought Clark's passionate fanbase some joy, a stat that has surfaced on social media may regain Swoopes some respect.
On Tuesday, X user @trendyhoopstars posted a picture of Swoopes during her time playing at Texas Tech, which included the caption, "Most Points Scored by a WCBB Player in a National Championship Game:
1. Sheryl Swoopes — 47 points
Swoopes led Texas Tech to victory in the championship that year! ✨ "
Most Points Scored by a WCBB Player in a National Championship Game:
— I talk hoops 🏀 (@trendyhoopstars) September 17, 2024
1. Sheryl Swoopes — 47 points
Swoopes led Texas Tech to victory in the championship that year! ✨ pic.twitter.com/RJLS44oJbe
This post appears to be a response to the aforementioned references to Clark surpassing Swoopes' single-game WNBA scoring record a few days ago.
For reference, Clark scored 30 points in both the 2023 NCAA National Championship game against LSU and the 2024 NCAA National Championship game against South Carolina.
While Swoopes will forever hold this record over Clark, the 22-year-old appears poised to produce a WNBA career that will overshadow anything she and Swoopes did in college.
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.