Paul Pierce is once again making headlines for all the wrong reasons. After Caitlin Clark put on a show on Monday night to lead Iowa to a 94-87 win over LSU in the NCAA Women's basketball tournament, Pierce raised eyebrows by making some rather controversial comments.
"We saw a White girl in Iowa do it to a bunch of Black girls. That gained my respect," Pierce said on Undisputed. "She didn't do this to some other little White girls that was over here in Colorado or whatever. She did this to some girls from LSU, who we thought were some dogs."
"Put them on her knee and spanked them," Pierce stated. "... I didn't expect that."
I am not sure why race always has to be brought up in topics such as these. The fact that Pierce somehow seems surprised that Clark was capable of having an incredible performance to beat LSU just because she is white is so wrong.
Clark is one of the greatest women's college basketball players of all time and should have earned everyone's respect even before she recorded 41 points, 7 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block here against LSU. The 22-year-old is the NCAA's all-time leading scorer and a two-time unanimous first-team All-American selection.
Pierce's comments are also rather insulting to LSU. There is absolutely no shame in losing to a team led by a player as great as Clark, and it doesn't matter what the color of her skin is.
NBA Fans Blasted Paul Pierce
To say Pierce's comments did not go down too well might have been an understatement. He was blasted by NBA fans on X.
One called out Pierce for this "analysis."
A fan stated they now understand why Pierce gets criticized so often.
One fan called out Pierce for delivering a trash take.
A fan stated he loved Pierce, the player, but not the analyst.
One fan is tired of all the race talk.
I sadly can't say I was surprised that Pierce said something along those lines. He has made plenty of questionable comments on television in the past, and this was just the latest one. It would have all been fine had he just stuck to the comments he made at first when he stated he was mesmerized by Clark's performance and called it the greatest in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
Luka Doncic Says Caitlin Clark Is The Female Stephen Curry
Pierce went about praising the Iowa star in the worst possible way, but Luka Doncic certainly didn't make that mistake. Doncic said Clark is the female Stephen Curry and admitted she's a better shooter than him.
She certainly is one of the finest long-range shooters we have seen. Clark even broke Curry's record for most threes made in an NCAA season earlier this year and is leaving quite the mark on college basketball.
Clark, who has declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft, would be hoping to cap off her college career with a national championship, and Iowa will take on UConn in the Final Four on Friday night. It is sure to be a spectacular contest.
Once Clark makes it to the pros, we might get to see her face-off against Curry. NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Curry and Klay Thompson could take on Clark and Sabrina Ionescu at All-Star weekend in 2025.
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