Big Ten Banter: Believe it or Not, Even Caitlin Clark Needs Time to Adjust to WNBA

Let’s just cut immediately to the chase, shall we?

Expectations for Caitlin Clark were unrealistic as she quickly transitioned from college to the professional ranks. Now, after the Indiana Fever’s 0-4 start, a new wave of WNBA “fans” are filling social media platforms with obnoxious, unhealthy rants.

Much like Taylor Swift and her “Swifties,” Clark has garnered somewhat of a cult following — most of whom never watched a WNBA game prior to the Fever’s season opener May 14 against the Connecticut Sun. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with fans supporting their favorite player, there’s a blind belief that the Indiana rookie has done no wrong through her first four games.

Instead, there’s been an awful lot of finger pointing. Clark’s biggest followers have called for Fever coach Christie Sides to be fired. They’ve complained that veteran players across the league are treating her unfairly. The blame game has gotten so toxic that Indiana teammate and 2023 No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston told ESPN’s Holly Rowe she deleted X from her phone.

To be clear, none of this is Clark’s fault. It’s not her responsibility to control the social media mob. Her job is to find ways to be successful in the WNBA — a process that takes time.

These newfound WNBA fans talked themselves into believing Clark’s dominance at the college level would translate to the professional level without so much as a hiccup. And when veteran guard Diana Taurasi tried to explain why that transition is complicated, many of Clark’s fans called the three-time champion and former league MVP “jealous.”

“Look, SVP, reality is coming. There’s levels to this thing. And that’s life, we all went through it,” Taurasi told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt in April. “And you see it on the NBA side and you’re gonna see it on this side. You look superhuman playing against 18-year-olds, but you’re going to come (into a league) with some grown women who have been playing professional basketball for a long time.

“Not saying that’s not gonna translate. Because when you’re great at what you do, you’re just gonna get better. But there is gonna be a transition period, where you’re gonna have to give yourself some grace as a rookie.”

It’s almost like the 20-year WNBA veteran knew what she wasn’t talking about, wasn’t it? Craz