“Charles Barkley Defends Caitlin Clark: Blasts Haters for ‘Ruining’ Her Rookie WNBA Season”

When Caitlin Clark signed up for the WNBA Draft this season, little did she realize that the narratives throughout the season would not be based on her game. Instead, it would be about players both current and former divided when acknowledging her impact. But now with the way she is playing with her Indiana Fever teammates, Charles Barkley has something to say to those naysayers.

The NBA Hall of Famer was speaking on The Bill Simmons Podcast. When talking about the narratives running around in the WNBA, Barkley said:

These ladies, and I am a WNBA fan, they cannot have f**ked this Caitlin Clark thing up any worse if they tried. This girl is incredible. The number of eyeballs she brought from the college to the pros. And for these women to have this petty jealousness, you say to yourself, ‘Damn, what is going on here?’. The thing I love about her, she never says a word.

Charles Barkley on The Bill Simmons Podcast

Charles Barkley in particular was annoyed by the fact that the women he was referring to, still haven’t let go of their jealousy. Now it is showing up even more as the rookie keeps on racking up records.

The Inside the NBA analyst was critical of this jealousy when such narratives flared up in the initial part of the season. But a lot of WNBA players spoke up and criticized Barkley for passing judgments without knowing the true picture.

Now as the season draws to a close, the jealousy is even more apparent. Clark’s impact is evident not only in the way she plays but also in the attention she draws. Barkley feels the Olympic break helped her silence most of the haters even though some remain.

Charles Barkley is happy Caitlin Clark did not go to the Paris Olympics

Continuing with their discussion, Barkley and Bill Simmons talked about how the rookie and the Indiana Fever have played better over the year. That’s when the Hall of Famer brought up this point:

I'll tell you what really good happened to her, not making the Olympic team. Giving her that time off has given her a chance to recharge her batteries. She probably deserved to make the Olympic team on merit. But her getting that time off, probably was the best thing to happen to her.

Charles Barkley continued

The round mound of rebound is happy that she did not go to Paris. Had Caitlin Clark taken that flight, the narrative would have changed differently. He feels the time off from basketball is showing in the way they are playing right now. The Fever are playing with more energy and synergy than most other teams. Even becoming giant killers in the process.

Charles Barkley knows that this situation would not have developed if the Olympic experience fatigued her. The Indiana Fever have clinched a playoff spot with games in hand. That is a remarkable achievement considering they haven’t made it in the past seven seasons. This break has helped the team and Clark to cement herself as one of the best players.