Rob Parker: āThis is not disrespect to him [Ice Cube] but Caitlin Clark is too big for the Big3 and not only that, sheās too big for the WNBA. I am convinced that Caitlin Clark should play for an NBA team, NOT a WNBA team. This aināt no stunt like Eddie Gaedel with the White Sox. Remember they had the small person who they tried to get him to walk every at bat? This is not a sideshow. This is not the bearded lady at the circus.
The NBA right now is so soft as far as physical play. They allow almost anyone to just take three-point shots, and I really believe that Caitlin Clark could put up threes in this manās NBA. This is not 2004, this is not the 90ās, this is an NBA where the three-ball is open, and itās open to be had. We just saw Steph Curry go up against a female [Sabrina Ionescu]Ā in the three-point shooting contest. Iām telling you she could play, she could make shots in the NBA. If they get her on some screens, they can open her up for some shots, some open looks... Nancy Lieberman already played in a menās league and that wasnāt taking threes. In this NBA where youāre not physical, where you can put up threes, Iām telling you, I think she could make threes in the NBA. Iām not saying sheās gonna be a star. Weāre not asking her to be the best player in the league weāre asking her to make some threes.
With the way they play the game now from the perimeter ā she's putting up shots from the logo! Why canāt she do that in the NBA? We just saw an All-Star Game where they didnāt even put their hands up defensively. There are a lot of open shots that you see in the NBA every night. Sheās not going to be the star of the team but could she play and put up some shots? YES. She too good for the WNBA and that would be a waste of talent. Sheās the greatest shooter weāve ever seen from the perimeter for the womenās game; if youāre going to give someone an opportunity [a women playing in the NBA for the first time], it should be her. Can we have her go to training camp? Can we have her fail? Can some NBA team give her an opportunity? What is so wrong with trying and giving her an opportunity??"
Chris Broussard: āThis is embarrassing for you, youāre crazy. You donāt know what youāre talking about. She aināt good enough, itās as simple as that. Why isnāt Jimmer Fredette in the NBA? Heās better than Caitlin Clark. Itās not about skills, itās about athleticism, itās about size, itās about strength. You are so disrespecting the quality of play in the NBA. The NBA is still somewhat physical. Speed, quickness ā Caitlin Clark is not quick for an NBA player. Caitlin Clark is 6ā0ā, 154 pounds, and she is awesome, but she shouldnāt even be compared to NBA players. I hate to even say it, but sheās not good enough to play in the NBA.
If the Big3 got guys from minor leagues playing overseas who are now 25-26 years old, she couldnāt play with them. She could play with the old guys that arenāt in shape, and they just playing around, but young guys that play ball for a living -- professionals -- NO. Sheās not good enough, and I hate to even say it that way because why are we even talking about her being in the NBA?
Jimmer Fredette was a phenomenal college basketball player against men at the highest level. Heās playing against men who are biologically stronger, bigger, and faster, and he was not athletic enough to consistently get his shot off in the NBA. What makes you think she would be?? No team is going to focus their whole offense on getting Caitlin Clark open threes. She wouldnāt get off the bench. Thereās physical play. Thereās boxing out. Defense gets physical. Youāve had some bad takes in your day but this takes the cake by a mile, this is ridiculous! Who is she guarding??āĀ
Watch Rob Parker and Chris Broussard of Fox Sports Radioās The Odd Couple discuss the news of āBig3ā founder Ice Cube offering Iowa Hawkeyes womenās basketball star Caitlin Clark $5 million to play in the Big3, with Rob taking the news a step further and saying that Clark should ditch her dream of playing in the WNBA and try to become the first womanās player in the NBA.Ā
Parker says Clark, who leads womenās college basketball in points and three-pointers by a wide margin, could have success in a āsoftā modern NBA that is experiencing its highest scoring season in league history, with three-point shooting the most frequent itās ever been as well.
Parker believes the 6ā0ā Clark, who averages 31.8 points and 8.8 assists, while connecting on 5.2 three-pointers per game for no. 2 ranked Iowa, would be ātoo bigā for womenās professional basketball, and would āwasteā her talent in the WNBA. Parker thinks Clark could be a three-point specialist in an NBA that has effectively removed defense from its game, and says that Clark could be utilized the same way the Warriors utilize Steph Curry off the ball in certain possessions, where Curry can run around multiple screens to free himself from defenders and knock down threeās from almost anywhere on the court.Ā
Parker mentioned that during NBA All-Star Weekend, Curry narrowly beat New York Liberty superstar Sabrina Ionescu 29-26 in a three-point shootout, and also brought up the fact that women's basketball legend Nancy Lieberman was the first woman to ever play in a men's professional league back in 1986 for the Springfield Fame of the United States Basketball League.
Check out the animated debate above as Broussard vehemently disagrees with Parker, saying NBA basketball is a different animal in terms of the physicality and athleticism compared to womenās college basketball, and says that if even legendary NCAA sharpshooter Jimmer Fredette canāt cut it in the NBA, then how are we going to expect Clark to?Ā
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