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A talking head is off the Caitlin Clark train.
The WNBA’s 2024 first overall pick and Rookie of the Year made her return to the hardwood Saturday after being limited to just 13 games last season, when a groin injury ended her sophomore campaign.
She dropped 20 points in what was a game from 3-point land and went 2-for-9 from deep, including missing a potential game-tying 3 in the game’s final seconds.
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Tyrone Johnson compared Caitlin Clark’s popularity to Jeremy Lin’s. (Trevor Ruszkowski; Brace Hemmelgarn/Imagn Images)
Clark took the sports world by storm during her time at Iowa and has undoubtedly been the primary reason for the growth of women’s basketball — but soon it will all come to an end, says former Philadelphia sports radio host Tyrone Johnson.
“The Caitlin Clark thing is over because she’s not the best player in the WNBA,” Johnson said on SportsGrid’s “The Craig Carton Show.” “She’s not the best guard in the WNBA. She’s not even the best guard from her college class because it’s Paige Buecker playing for [the] Dallas [Wings]who beat them in the season opener. This could be a situation where we look back at Caitlin Clark and we don’t want to look back at her like she’s Michael Jordan. She is Jeremy Lin. This is just Linsanity.”
Johnson also criticized Clark for going with Morgan Wallen at his concert in Indianapolis.
“Morgan Wallen says the N-word liberally. Says it more than I do and I’m black,” Johnson said.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark drives to the basket against the Dallas Wings on May 9, 2026 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire)
CAITLIN CLARK DRAWS MIXED REACTIONS AFTER SURPRISE MORGAN WALLEN CONCERT WALKOUT AFTER FEVER LOSS
Johnson also called out Clark’s “b—-ing and moaning to the refs non-stop.”
“But when we look back at this, we go, this girl had the world by the balls. She had everybody loving her. People who hate women’s sports tuned in just for her. And when we look at Jeremy Lin and look at her, we’ll find that at the end of the day it was exactly the same thing.”
Lin took the world by storm in 2012 when he suddenly became a prolific scorer for the New York Knicks after riding their bench. In a 17-game stretch, he averaged 20.7 points and 8.5 assists, including a memorable 38-point effort against the Los Angeles Lakers and a game-winning 3-pointer against the Toronto Raptors, but that kind of success was short-lived. However, he was able to manage a fine career from NBA benches until 2019.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark shoots the ball during the second half against the Dallas Wings at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on April 30, 2026. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images)
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When Awful Announcing referred to Johnson’s monologue as a “hot take”, Johnson said it was “the best” take.
Clark set several records in his rookie season after becoming the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, averaging 19.2 points and 8.4 assists (for what it’s worth, Lin’s career high was 18.0 points). Battling through injuries last season, Clark averaged just 16.5 points but dished out 8.8 assists per game. contest and was named to his second All-Star team. Lin was never an All-Star, but finished seventh in NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2015-16.
