Team USA women’s basketball coach Cheryl Reeve backed off of her stance on the popularity of Caitlin Clark and her role as a catalyst for growth of the WNBA. She did so after getting humbled by the Fever, as well as Indiana’s wide-reaching fanbase.
However, the 57-year-old still found a way to discredit the league’s biggest star!
Reeve will coach the United States National Team at the Olympics in Paris later this month. Barring unforeseen injury that requires a last-minute replacement, Clark will not be on the roster as a first-year pro.
The decision to leave her off of the team was rather contentious but it ultimately came down to experience and standard procedure. Clark wasn’t at training camp because she was playing March Madness and didn’t play particularly well during the first few weeks of the WNBA season. Rookies rarely make the team even when they do participate in all of the pre-selection process. The list goes on.
Although the decision was made with some logic and reason, Reeve’s comments about Clark in May did not help with the optics. She took a shot at the extension coverage and promotion of the most hyped player in league history and tagged it with “#theWismorethanoneplayer.” It was awkward.
Now two and a half months later, it is very clear that Clark’s impact on the WNBA has been the catalyst for meteoric growth and popularity. The league is thriving in large part because of the No. 1 overall pick. Believe it or not, people want to see the greatest scorer in college basketball history shoot logo threes!
Reeve’s comments looked extremely dumb when she said them. They looked even worse on Sunday when the Fever defeated the Lynx in Minnesota.
Caitlin Clark humbled Cheryl Reeve!
Reeve was asked prior to the game about the amount of fans who were going to cheer for Indiana in her home gym. She was quick to shut it down with a sassy rebuttal.
Clark scored 17 points with six assists and three rebounds in a seven-point win over the Lynx. Her third board of the evening put the game out of reach.
She looked right at Reeve and stared her down while pumping up the crowd on the road.
SHE STARED HER DOWN 😭😂😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/wQYvelK1ZF
— sofia (@slowlyslide) July 14, 2024
It was a humiliating moment for the national team head coach. She was humbled in real time.
Reeve was asked about the crowd during her postgame press conference. More specifically, a reporter asked her what the league can do to encourage similar environments at more games.
Looking foolish, Reeve had no choice but to give Clark credit.
I mean, I don’t know that I quite understand the question in that everybody knows that the reason why our teams around the league are having sellouts are because Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are coming to town.
— Cheryl Reeve
And then she went out of her way to take the credit back by also praising Angel Reese.
Angel Reese has impacted their attendance at the Chicago games. I suspect on the road as well. So what the league can do is be ready to capitalize on the moments, but it’s much like when we saw Bird and Magic come in the league, right.
— Cheryl Reeve
Fortunately, it does seem like Reeve finally gets it.
The league has been building for a watershed moment and we’re here. Now, you’ve got to take advantage of it. It’s beyond just kind of saying, OK, well the Indiana Fever and they’re selling out and you’re just sitting back and watching it. How, (what) other ways can you monetize and capitalize on it. That’s obviously a business-layered thing, but that’s how I think you could capitalize.
— Cheryl Reeve
The way in which this entire thing has transpired could not be any funnier for Caitlin Clark, who actively avoided any dialogue about Cheryl Reeve’s comments during the preseason. Poetic justice!