Caitlin Clark's Shared Accomplishment With Michael Jordan Cements Her Rising Legend Status
Even though her career is just starting to take off, Caitlin Clark has already been compared to some of the greatest players in basketball history. From Candace Parker to Steph Curry, the Indiana Fever star has made her name known on the court. Now, her latest accomplishment, shared with the one and only Michael Jordan, is cementing her into legendary status.
Clark has teamed up with Wilson Sporting Company for a multi-year partnership, the only athlete to do so since the Chicago Bulls star's collaboration in the 1980s. The company announced the news on social media, sharing, "Driveway. NCAA.WNBA. Playing with Wilson since the journey began — now we're making it official. Welcome to Wilson Basketball, Caitlin."
With the new partnership comes a ball collection inspired by Clark, the first batch of which has dropped. The basketball is a gold and white color with an imprint of her on it. Fans do have a tough choice to make, as the imprint of the Indiana Fever star has three different styles, perfect for any Clark fanatic. As exciting as the Wilson collection has been for fans, it's also thrilling for the Indiana Fever star, who has a personal connection with the company. She told BoardRoom, "I loved that thing more than anything. My brothers and I would always fight over it. That was the best basketball." The collaboration is just further proof that Clark isn't going anywhere, and is on her way to becoming one of the greatest players to hit the court.
People have been comparing Caitlin Clark to Michael Jordan
The Wilson collaboration is not the first parallel between Caitlin Clark and Michael Jordan. The WNBA star has been compared to Jordan for a while now, thanks to her impressive resume. In her college career, Clark became the all time scorer in the NCAA for both men and women's basketball and led the University of Iowa to two NCAA championship games. The transformation that Clark has had over the years, and all of her impressive feats, has many thinking that she is the next Jordan.
One person on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted a video of the audience that the University of Iowa star pulled in at one of her games, writing, "Caitlin Clark really is the next Michael Jordan. She's doing for women's basketball exactly what MJ did years ago and it is so exciting for women's basketball." Prior to becoming the Indiana Fever's No. 1 pick in the WNBA, sports fans were already predicting that she would make a splash no matter what team she wound up with. Another user said, "Wherever Caitlin Clark goes to play, it's a sell out. This is like Michael Jackson, like Michael Jordan. She's the biggest deal in sports, and will be that for the foreseeable future." High expectations have been placed on Clark, but she's trying her best not to let it get to her.
Caitlin Clark is learning from her time in the WNBA
Caitlin Clark has kickstarted her career with the WNBA playing for the Indiana Fever. However, her time on the court hasn't been a breeze. As of this writing, the Fever has lost four games so far this season. While this has opened the door for criticism against Clark, she has still been pulling her weight, scoring nearly 20 points in three out of the four games. Regardless of her scores, people still have still taken over the internet to shade Clark for not leading the team to a win. But despite the mounting pressure on her from basketball fans, the Indiana Fever star knows that she has a lot of learning to do.
Speaking with "Today" in May 2024, Clark divulged the details about her time in the WNBA so far. Lately, the basketball star has not only caught some flack from basketball fans, but also from vet WNBA stars who think she is in for a heap of obstacles in her professional career. Clark has made it clear that she is aware of potential challenges though. She shared, " ... I think just learning day by day. That's going to be the biggest thing for myself. And I think continuing to stack days, whether you learn one little thing or you learn a lot, I think continuing to improve is going to be the biggest part of it for myself." Even Michael Jordan had his off days, but just like the G.O.A.T., Clark will surely find her footing as time goes on.