“Caitlin Clark is like Steph Curry, but with Michael Jordan's mindset”
The Fever star has kept focus on basketball while controversy continues to swirl around the league
Caitlin Clark has no shortage of reasons to dominate the conversation around the WNBA . Her latest record-setting performance only added to that, but it is the way she has handled the noise around the league that has caught Colin Cowherd ’s attention.
The Indiana Fever star became the first player in WNBA history to post five career games with at least 30 points and 10 assists on August 23, another landmark in a rapidly growing resume.
Yet Cowherd believes Clark ’s most striking trait isn't simply her range or playmaking. It is her willingness to keep the public focus on basketball.
“She is Steph Curry but with a Michael Jordan mindset,” Cowherd said on The Herd. “All business. All basketball. Has no opinion or comment on the controversies.”
He continued: “The Fever offense is not only number one in this league at 97 a game. It’s the best offense in league history because of Caitlin Clark.”
Cowherd sees Jordan-like traits
The comparison with Michael Jordan is less about style of play than public approach. Jordan spent much of his career avoiding being defined by political or social debates, a stance he later explained in a 2020 ESPN interview.
“I never thought of myself as an activist, I thought of myself as a basketball player,” Jordan said. “I wasn’t a politician when I was playing my sport; I was focused on my craft.”
Clark has taken a similarly narrow approach when asked about some of the WNBA’s most contentious issues.
Discussing the debate around transgender athletes in women’s sports earlier this month, she said: “I think it’s for leagues and governing bodies to work with their athletes to find solutions. Our focus is on basketball.”
She reinforced that message in another ESPN interview.
“I think first and foremost, like you know, you speak when you feel like you want to speak,” Clark said. “I try to just show up and be myself every single day.”
That position has drawn criticism from some who believe a player with Clark ’s platform should take stronger positions. Cowherd , however, sees restraint as part of what makes her so effective.
Tension around Clark goes deeper
The broader debate around Clark and teammate Sophie Cunningham has also drawn Charles Barkley into the conversation.
“Those girls do not like Caitlin Clark or Sophie Cunningham,” Barkley said on The Michael Smerconish Program.
He went on to suggest several possible factors behind the tension, though he stopped short of accusing anyone of racism.
“I’m not gonna get on here and call somebody a racist because I don’t have any proof,” Barkley said.
He added: “I think there’s some, like I say it, jealousy. I think it’s a part of it. Race is a part of it. And sexuality is a part of it.”
That contrast helps explain why Cowherd finds Clark ’s approach notable.
While others debate the controversies surrounding her, Clark keeps returning to the same message: basketball first.
And in Cowherd ’s view, that is exactly what makes the Curry-Jordan comparison work.
