"Nothing but respect": 4X WNBA champ Sheryl Swoopes admits mistake dragging Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese in her previous interview

Iowa's Caitlin Clark and LSU's Angel Reese are two of the most popular women's basketball players right now. However, as is the case with every top athlete, they have their fair share of detractors. Oddly enough, one of their critics is four-time WNBA champion Sheryl Swoopes.

Swoopes' comments resulted in fan backlash, prompting the former Houston Comet player to somewhat retract her statement. She emphasized that she had already reached out to Reese and Clark and had "a good conversation" with the two young women:

“I will say what I said to her was I made a mistake in saying it was your fifth year when it is your fourth. Have nothing but respect for what she has done for the game. And, you know, if she wants to share what her response was and how that conversation went I’ll leave that to her. But it was a really good conversation.”

An interview with Swoopes earlier this year reportedly had the WNBA legend making inaccurate claims about Clark and her game alongside Angel Reese. She reportedly said that the Iowa guard is a "25-year-old playing with 20-year-olds" and that she chucks up at least 40 shots per game on her own (via On3).

One doesn't need to dig deep to know that these claims are clearly not true. Clark is currently 22 years old and is in her true senior year in Iowa City. And for one, she averages far below 40, at around 19-20 attempts per game.

Sheryl Swoopes and the Caitlin Clark/Angel Reese situation

Alongside Clark, Angel Reese was also the focus of Swoopes' comment, with the former multi-time WNBA champ mentioning that the two young women's abilities wouldn't exactly translate to the WNBA.

Right after making her initial comment, however, Swoopes did say that it might be a good thing for Clark and Reese not to dominate the WNBA early doors. She mentioned that the Iowa and LSU stars both have talent and that they can definitely cut it at the highest level. This is a massive understatement, considering Clark is now the NCAAW all-time leading scorer, while Baton Rouge's "Bayou Barbie" is the leading scorer on a defending champion team.

What Swoopes meant to say was that the competition in the pros is extremely fierce. Unlike D1 college basketball, there's only a handful of roster spots available, and WNBA teams already have their current stars. Rookies who come in from the draft, despite their talent, will still have to prove themselves and compete for minutes with the established professionals.

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