Caitlin Clark has been subjected to some brutal treatment on the court in the first few months of her rookie WNBA season.
Yet while many believe she needs better physical protection from her teammates, Clark is clearly capable of handling herself just fine when it comes to verbal warfare.
According to Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon, the Indiana Fever sensation is one of the best in the league from a trash-talking standpoint despite her nice-girl reputation.
Hammon was quizzed on the rise of the WNBA after the Aces’ win over the Chicago Sky on Thursday night, admitting there are some ‘super-skilled’ players in the league today.
Caitlin Clark is said to be one of the biggest trash-talkers around in the WNBA right now
However, she also believes more eyeballs are being drawn to women’s basketball because they’re ‘fun to watch’ and ‘jaw at each other’ – with no one ‘talking more c**p’ than Clark.
‘Look, at the end of the day they’re really super-skilled, they’re fun to watch – and they jaw at each other,’ Hammon told reporters.
‘People be like, “Oh Angel [Reese] is talking”… [but] nobody talks more c**p than Caitlin too!
‘Caitlin be in there talking, that’s just what they do. I saw her and Alyssa [Thomas] get into it the other day. It’s a different generation, ‘cos I think we talk subtly. They be talking to your face, which is fine.
As well as talking trash on the court, Clark clearly has no qualms making her frustrations known with members of her own team.
At the end of their defeat to Chicago on Sunday night, the Fever rookie could be seen gesturing furiously towards coach Christie Side while appearing to disagree about a certain tactic late on in the game.
Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon (right) says ‘no one talks more c**p’ than Clark
The Indiana Fever rookie has been the subject of major controversy in her first WNBA season
One user suggested on social media: ‘Christie Sides & Caitlin Clark were arguing towards the end of the game. Clark didn’t like the game plan from Sides.
‘This is going to be an issue because Christie Sides went away from the pick & roll, Chicago was having an issue stopping it. Indiana would have won this game’.
Clark’s debut campaign in the WNBA has been the subject of major controversy, with her bitter rivalry with Chicago’s Reese fueling talk of a ‘race war’.
Reese and Sky teammate Chennedy Carter were both accused of brutality towards Clark on the court in recent weeks, which has sparked widespread debate amongst fans, analysts and ex-players.