Male Fans Angry With Newspaper Comparing Caitlin Clark To Larry Bird

This week, the Indianapolis Star asked if Caitlin Clark could be the next Larry Bird and it made a bunch of male basketball fans very angry.

The article stemmed from a response Indiana Fever general manager Lin Dunn gave to a question on Wednesday.

“Wow, is Caitlin Clark the next Larry Bird? Loretta Bird. That’s a great question,” Dunn said. “Let’s hope she is. Let’s hope she has the impact on this franchise that Larry Bird had on his franchise.

“I think the great thing about her is that she makes everybody better on the court when she’s out there. She has that impact on people, she’s very unselfish and she’s an excellent passer. Does she have the potential to have a huge impact on our program? I think so.”

Apparently, according to Indianapolis Star writer Dana Hunsinger Benbow, some fans believe that is not only a “stupid comparison,” it’s “idiotic” and “laughable.”

But is it? Is it really?

The year before Larry Bird joined the Boston Celtics, 1978-79, they were 23-59. The next year, 1979–80, they went 61-21 and were Atlantic Division champions.

In Caitlin Clark’s case, the Indiana Fever were 13-27 last year (and 5-31 in the year prior).

Bird was a triple-double machine. Clark is as well. Bird made it to the college basketball championship game. Clark made it there twice. The Celtics added Kevin McHale and Robert Parish in Bird’s second year. The Fever already added Aliyah Boston. Bird made every player on his team that was on the floor better. Clark clearly did the same thing at Iowa and her Indiana Fever coach Christie Sides already sees it happening in the WNBA.

“If you talk to [Clark’s new teammates], they’re just really surprised at how well she’s able to find them on the court in transition,” Sides said.” She’s a willing passer at any point in time. She makes us all better.”

So if the Fever can turn things around in a similar fashion to what Bird did for the Celtics, how can you not make that comparison?

Larry Bird also isn’t the only Bird to which Caitlin Clark has drawn comparisons.

Fever general manager Lin Dunn says she sees a lot of Sue Bird in Clark.

“I see many characteristics between Sue Bird and Caitlin Clark some 20 years later,” Dunn said Wednesday. “When I look at the great guards I’ve seen over how many years now, 28 years, Caitlin has the potential. If she stays healthy, adapts quickly to the physicality of this league, she has the potential to have that kind of career.”

Considering Sue Bird played for 20 years in the WNBA, was a four-time champion and a 13-time All-Star and had her number retired by the Seattle Storm, that too is a pretty lofty comparison.

Whether Caitlin Clark can live up to those expectations remains to be see. The good news, however, is that more people, including Sue Bird, will actually be watching.