WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark let her performances on the court do the talking to make a scathing review of her potential look foolish less than five months on.

Caitlin Clark #22 of the Indiana Fever looks on during a press conference after losing 81-87 to the Connecticut Sun in Game Two of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs first round at Mohegan Sun Arena on September 25, 2024There’s no question that Caitlin Clark silenced the doubters.

Caitlin Clark defiantly responded to legendary coach Geno Auriemma’s misguided prediction for how she’d fare in her rookie WNBA season.

The 22-year-old quickly overcame her early struggles with the Indiana Fever to live up to the hype of her first-draft pick. She received all but one of the 67 votes for the Rookie of the Year award.

And she finished fourth in the voting for MVP, a result which Auriemma called fans “disrespectful and unknowledgeable” for forecasting less than five months ago. He cast serious doubt over Clark’s ability to transform her collegiate form onto the WNBA stage.

Appearing on the Dan Patrick Show in June, Auriemma said: “If you’re a college player, and a great college player like Caitlin was, the delusional fan base that follows her disrespected the WNBA players by saying she’s going to go in that league and tear it apart.

“There were actually odds, like she’s third or fourth in betting odds of being MVP in the WNBA. These people are so disrespectful and so unknowledgeable and so stupid that it gives women’s basketball a bad name. So, the kid was set up for failure right from the beginning.”

The 11-time NCAA Division I-winning coach went on to argue that basketball legend Diana Taurasi “said it best” when she warned Clark was “in for a rude awakening”. Both of them have been left with egg on their face with Clark proving them resoundingly wrong ever since.

The Fever, who have today (October 27) sacked coach Christie Sides, had lost seven of their first eight games of the season by the time of Auriemma’s now-infamous interview. “This kid’s on the wrong team,” he argued. “She’s got the wrong skill set to handle the physicality in the league, and she’s a rookie.

Geno AuriemmaGeno Auriemma’s claims in June have been made to look very silly.

“And if you’re a WNBA player, you’re gonna say, I’m gonna make a statement. Targeted by society, targeted by her looks, targeted by her reputation, and targeted by the disrespect they’ve shown to the WNBA, there’s a huge target on this kid’s back.

“This rookie class isn’t even one of the best rookie classes in the last 10 years. But they’ve been made out to be that because of the way social media is today. She’s just not built for the physicality of this league, and she’s not quick enough to get away from the physicality.”

Clark and her team soon found their feet and bounced back to make the playoffs as the No. 6 seed. Auriemma is yet to eat humble pie, but Clark let her performances do the talking – and some response it was.