There has been plenty of discourse over the past week on how Caitlin Clark has been treated by the rest of the WNBA thus far in her rookie season.
This of course all stemmed from last weekend’s matchup between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky when Clark was on the receiving end of a hard foul from Chennedy Carter.
Whether it is fair or not, the foul has fueled the narrative that Clark’s peers in the WNBA may be a bit envious of all of the credit she has received for growing the sport.
But this isn’t exactly a new idea when it comes to the dynamic between an up-and-coming rookie player and veterans in basketball. On a much smaller scale, former Los Angeles Lakers top draft pick Lonzo Ball was given his “welcome to the league” moment when he came up against Patrick Beverley in his NBA debut back in 2017.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver alluded to this on Thursday night when he was asked about Clark’s treatment in the WNBA in a press conference ahead of Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals.
Adam Silver on Caitlin Clark and the WNBA. pic.twitter.com/aW6tq5xEuq
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 7, 2024
“It’s nothing new in basketball that there is welcome to the league moments,” said Silver. “Especially for heralded rookies. But of course I want to see Caitlin treated fairly and appropriately in the league. I would say, it seems like she can take care of herself, she’s a tough player. I look forward to watching her ongoing development in the league.”
“I don’t want to make too big of an issue about one particular play or one particular call. I think the burgeoning rivalries in professional basketball… You see rivalries among clubs but also among individual players too. I think that can ultimately be good for the sport. But at the same time, there are larger societal issues at play, there is no doubt about that. I don’t want to hide from that.”