As Caitlin gets hazed as a rookie, Crawford discusses the potential reasons for it.

Everyone expected Caitlin Clark to take over the WNBA by storm, but her pro career hasn’t quite matched her college dominance yet. Although she’s shown flashes of brilliance, like her 30-point performance against the LA Sparks, more often than not, she’s had a rude awakening while dealing with the physicality, with defenders being all over him.

Adding to her woes, numerous players have stated that the Iowa prospect isn’t solely responsible for bringing more eyeballs to women’s basketball. Some might reckon this is because the WNBA’s ‘golden child’ has been made a target, yet Jamal Crawford offered a different perspective. Speaking on the ‘All Facts No Brakes’ podcast, the three-time 6MOTY highlighted how all greats have to go through their rookie hazing period, and it’s just an opportunity to prove their mettle.

“I think any great’s gonna go through that route,” Crawford said. “When you’re a rookie, and somebody sees you coming up late trying to stop that… It’s not a personal thing, but it’s like a me thing. ‘You’re getting the light right now, and it’s great for the league, but I’m gonna show you it’s not gonna be easy.’ You’re gonna have to come and take it.”

Crawford on how hazing impacts great players

While Clark’s fans might attribute her 15.6 points and 6.4 assists per game average over 11 games to the constant heckling and overly physical play against her, Crawford clarified how legends like Michael Jordan and LeBron James faced similar rookie hazing when they entered the NBA with considerable hype.

Only when they didn’t let it impace them and maintained their ROY-caliber performance did other players realize their superiority.

“Jordan went through it. LeBron went through it. Kobe went through it,” Crawford said. “The greats go through that… But on the other side of that, it makes you better.”

Jamal himself gave Roy a harsh lesson

Furthermore, the retired guard acknowledged that he wasn’t innocent himself, recalling his time as a veteran with the Portland Trail Blazers and when he taught rookie Brandon Roy some tough lessons. He mentioned how he wanted to teach him the harsh realities of the league to make Roy learn that persevering through it would ultimately pay off.

That being said, hazing rookies has been a thing in pro sports for as long as anyone can remember. However, the real question is whether Clark has what it takes to fight through that and show the world what she is really made of.