WNBA players hating on Caitlin Clark is exactly what the league needs -- commentary

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Rivalries are great for sports. They might even be the best thing a sport or a league can have. Magic vs. Bird. Ali vs. Frazier. Brady vs. Manning. You know what's better for the WNBA than Caitlin Clark having one rival? Caitlin Clark having 120 rivals. 

The WNBA is seeing unprecedented attention from Americans this year, thanks to the arrival of Caitlin Clark. Clark's National Championship loss against South Carolina drew an average of nearly 19 million viewers, the most-watched women's sporting event in history. 

Although the league isn't quite seeing those numbers, Clark is still drawing over a million fans per game to their TV sets, something the WNBA hadn't seen a single time in over a decade prior to the Indiana Fever drafting Clark. 

But it's not because Clark is dominating on the court, like she did at Iowa. Clark is the highest scoring player in NCAA basketball history, men or women. She averaged over 28 points per game in her career in college, including a ridiculous 31.6 points in her final season. 

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Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever reacts in the first quarter of a game against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center on June 02, 2024 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.  (Luke Hales/Getty Images)

Her highest total in any of her first 10 WNBA games is 30 points, which means she hasn't yet reached her college AVERAGE in a single game. Clark is averaging under 17 points in those 10 games. 

This isn't a surprise; most rookies struggle in the early stages of their transition from college or high school into the professional ranks. The game is faster, and the