Two-time NBA champion Mychal Thompson means that Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark ought to get a Jeep endorsement, and it’s all due to her largest critics.
Thompson, the daddy of recent Dallas Mavericks star Klay Thompson, joined OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich” to speak about Clark and the WNBA’s current rise in reputation.
Mychal Thompson participates within the broadcast earlier than the sport between the Clippers and Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Oct. 20, 2022. (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE through Getty Images)
“JEEP is an acronym that I’ve give you about the best way she has been handled and never welcomed into the WNBA … the acronym stands for jealousy, envy, egos and pettiness: J-E-E-P, JEEP. That’s the best way the ladies have handled her, particularly the outdated guard, the celebrities.”
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The Fever drafted Clark with the No. 1 total decide in April after she accomplished 4 years at Iowa University, the place she led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back Final Four appearances.
Thompson known as Clark the “sole purpose” the WNBA has risen in reputation, one thing he mentioned drives the outdated guard “loopy.”
The WNBA introduced that May was the highest-attended opening month in 26 years and the most-watched begin of the season ever throughout each community.
Clark is just not the one high-profile rookie to come back into the WNBA this season. Angel Reese has vaulted herself into the rookie of the 12 months dialog together with her sturdy play.
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Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever is proven through the sport towards the Aces in Las Vegas on July 2, 2024. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Clark’s former Iowa teammate, Kate Martin, has performed nicely for the Las Vegas Aces, and Los Angeles Spark’s No. 2 total decide Cameron Brink was within the midst of a strong rookie season earlier than she tore her ACL final month.
Even with a robust rookie class, Clark has stood out from the group. She recorded the WNBA’s first-ever triple-double by a rookie this month within the Fever’s 83-78 victory over the first-place New York Liberty. Clark is averaging 16 factors, six rebounds and just below 7.5 assists per sport by 22 video games this season.
Thompson informed OutKick that he has been following Clark’s profession since her sophomore 12 months at Iowa, including that he has by no means seen this model of play in girls’s basketball earlier than. He even went so far as to check her to NBA greats Pistol Pete Maravich and Steve Nash.
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Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever shoots a 3-pointer towards the Aces in Las Vegas on July 2, 2024. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“It’s not about her race or her sexual orientation, it’s about her model of play. We have by no means seen a lady shoot with that sort of vary constantly and make the passes within the open court docket she does,” Thompson mentioned through the interview. “Her court docket imaginative and prescient is enticing to observe as her capturing vary.”
Thompson, 69, was the primary total decide within the 1978 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. He received two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and presently works as a broadcaster for the group.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
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