The Greatest of All Time label often sparks a debate no matter which athletes you’re talking about. The No. 1 Overall Pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft Caitlin Clark is the newest recipient of the GOAT debate. Let’s make one thing clear, she certainly is the best player in women’s hoops in the eyes of mainstream media. She has earned the right to be in that conversation.

With Clark heading to the Indiana Fever, the “Caitlin Clark effect” will bring attention to Indy. So much so that it’s expected that 26,000 additional fans will attend Fever games this season. That’s not all, 36 of the Fever’s 40 games will be nationally televised. Women’s basketball already broke some records this year with the viewership that the Iowa-UConn game got

“I’m sure [my rookie season in the WNBA will] be a big first step for me,” Clark said on the SNL set. “But it’s just one step for the WNBA, thanks to all the great players like Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, the great Dawn Staley, and my basketball hero, Maya Moore. These are the women that kicked down the door, so I could walk inside.”

Even Caitlin Clark has acknowledged great players before her.

Women’s sports are growing. That’s something I truly love to see. I’ve been an advocate for them dating back to my college days when I broadcasted for both the Northwest Nazarene Women’s Basketball team and the Softball team. Caitlin Clark gets a lot of credit for the growth of Women’s basketball, which is why some consider her the GOAT. We shouldn’t forget players like Page Bueckers, JuJu Watkins and Angel Reese.

“I think it’s more important for the game to share the spotlight to grow the game and show all the stars of college basketball and not just focus on one particular player,” Bueckers said. “Whether it be me, Caitlin, JuJu [Watkins], Angel [Reese]. There’s so many names in college basketball now that are huge, that are stars that deserve credit.”

Not to mention, before these ladies were dominating headlines. It was Sabrina Ionescu doing the same thing at the University of Oregon.

Caitlin Clark is a phenomenal athlete with a long list of accolades already. Bueckers is right though, mainstream sports media needs to expand the coverage beyond just one player. Failure to do so will diminish the present star power in the game and discredit the greats who have made it possible for any of these women to have a career like they have.

Not to take away from her talent, but it’s outrageous that mainstream media wants to act like Caitlin Clark is the GOAT. Women’s sports are not a new phenomenon. They’ve been around for a while. There are a lot of skilled players in the NBA already — players like Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Ionescu and many others.

It’s great that the fans and media are now invested into the WNBA. The Women deserve as much coverage as the men. The popularity and audience surrounding Women’s sports has grown significantly in recent years. It’ll likely continue to do so. However, it’s a slap in the face to current players and to those on the sidelines and in the media who have been watching women’s basketball for years (or even decades), to hear so much commotion surrounding one player.

Diana Taurasi, who is arguably the GOAT of women’s basketball, had something to say to Clark back on April 6.

“Reality is coming,” Taurasi told Scott Van Pelt in early April of the skill gap between the college and professional game. “You look superhuman playing against some 18 year-olds but you’re going to come play with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time.”

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