What was initially thought to be sage advice from one of the greatest women’s basketball players of all time has taken on a redemptive edge for Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.
It all centers around comments made by Diana Taurasi earlier this year, where she warned fans not to place high expectations on rookies because of the adjustments they would have to make at the professional level after playing in college for so long.
“Reality sets in, there are limits to this,” he told Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter, when asked about rookies, including Clark, jumping to the pros.
“And that’s life, we’ve all been there… You look superhuman playing against some 18-year-old girls, but you’re coming in (to play) with some grown women who have been playing professional basketball for a long time,” Taurasi added.
“I’m not saying you can’t adapt, because when you’re good at what you do, you’re just going to get better,” he continued. “But there will be a transition period, where you’ll have to give yourself a little bit of leeway as a rookie.”
Diana Taurasi’s comments about transitions to the WNBA have come back to the fore after Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever defeated the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night.
Some believe Taurasi’s initial comments were intended to slight Clark.
Many took that as something of a slight against Clark, who has transitioned nicely into his rookie season after an adjustment period to start his career with the Indiana Fever.
The latest chapter of that adjustment came Friday night, when Clark and the Fever beat Taurasi’s Phoenix Mercury for the third time this year in a season-ending sweep.
Phoenix mounted an inspired comeback, but was unable to overcome the deficit against the Fever and lost 98-89.
Clark was a big reason for that, scoring 29 points and dishing out 10 assists on 8-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-11 from three-point range.
It was a solid performance for the Fever, which was to be expected considering they were coming off a long layoff when they faced a Mercury team that had three Olympians on its roster and had just played the night before.
Still, many were quick to throw comments back at Taurasi (16 points, four rebounds, three assists) after the Mercury loss.
Barstool Sports’ lead article read: “Diana Taurasi has yet to beat Caitlin Clark this year with Team USA (in the All-Star Game) or the Phoenix Mercury. Reality is harsh.”
‘@DianaTaurasi how does that reality treat you?’ wrote one person.
Social media dug up Taurasi’s quotes and got a mixed reaction on Twitter.
Another wrote: “I love how poorly this has aged for DT (no age pun intended).”
But many more took a more balanced approach to Taurasi’s comments, saying she was right and praising Clark for her transition to becoming a quality professional player for her age.
“I’ll be honest. I didn’t see a season sweep in the cards. I didn’t think DT was wrong with what he said. Maybe Clark is more talented than we all initially thought,” he wrote in a tweet.
‘Overall this is a factual statement. There are “levels” and most of the time moving up a level means a difficult transition period. But Caitlin Clark is just different. I can’t blame Taurasi for what she said, it would be correct 99% of the time. Caitlin Clark is just different,’ said another.
Another wrote: “She (Taurasi) didn’t mess up and we saw what happened. (Clark’s) transition period was like lightning. So fast!!!”
