Caitlin Clark's fiercest critic Sheryl Swoopes aims another dig at WNBA star after TIME award

Death, taxes, and WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes making an unprovoked dig at Caitlin Clark, with her latest putdown coming after the Indiana Fever sensation won TIME's Athlete of the Year award. 

Clark was given the honor, the first for a WNBA player, on Tuesday, with the only logical runners-up being Shohei Ohtani or Travis Kelce. 

Swoopes has criticized Clark for her play, actions, and impact over the last several months. The comments come off as odd to many from someone who typically champions women's basketball and its players. 

Now, the prestigious award, which was first given out in 2019, has come into Swoopes' focus. 

'I don’t think I’m surprised,' Swoopes said of Clark winning the award on 'Gil's Arena'. 'I’m curious to know who the other candidates were, but the fact that that’s the very first WNBA player to ever win TIME Magazine Athlete of the Year is pretty special.'

'My question is, like the criteria, is it based off of her performance on the court? Which, yeah, she had a great year, or is it more about the impact that she had on the game this season?'

Swoopes must have not read the TIME story attached with the announcement of Clark winning the award, as the article answers that very question. 

The story looks at Clark's on-court accomplishments, as one of the WNBA's top stars, but also how she has grown the game over the last year. 

Clark made WNBA regular-season games can't-miss television when the league had been in sports purgatory for most of its existence. 

Swoopes has denied being solely a Clark critic, with some attributing her opinions as jealousy or wanting to spread the attention to the sport's other stars.  

Yet, there is no denying Clark has raised the profile of women's basketball in America, if not all of women's sports. 

Clark is the third woman to win the award after Megan Rapinoe in 2019 and Simone Biles in 2021.