In a recent episode Mark Jackson ShawIndiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller spoke with Indiana Fever star Kaitlyn Clark about the early days of her WNBA career.
Miller and Jackson had been talking about Clark, her status as a rookie in the league, what it meant to the other players playing against her, and her physical play. “In the women’s game, they’re just straight-ballers,” Miller said early in the conversation. Her sister, Cheryl, was a standout basketball player at USC and on the U.S. national team before suffering a knee injury.
Miller then went into more detail about Clark and her reality of facing physical play. “Why is everybody so shocked? She’s playing against grown women,” Miller told Jackson. “The same thing happened to us as rookies. The same thing happened when we were playing against grown women.” [Michael Jordan],” he added.
“Obviously, she’s going to struggle. It’s a learning curve.” Clark has been the subject of plenty of discussion about hard fouls since she entered the league, but only one stands out as an anomaly in a physical league: an off-ball hit on Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter on June 1.
Through 13 games, Clark is averaging 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game for the Fever, who are 3-10 thus far in a tough Indiana schedule.
Miller suggested Clarke should fight back in some way. “Caitlin stood up for once, [someone]” he said, later walking back some of the statement, but he still implied that the Fever rookie should play physical to protect himself.
Miller played 18 seasons with the Pacers, averaging 18.2 points per game. You can see a recap of Miller and Jackson’s conversation about Clark here.
