Caitlin Clark finally opens up about being the face of women's basketball

Following a slow start to the season, Caitlin Clark has firmly emerged as one of the leading MVP candidates.

The third-year point guard is pulling the strings of the WNBA's most explosive offense, creating a deadly tandem with Kelsey Mitchell.

Clark's surge has silenced some of the never-ending criticism. She's been tangled up in countless controversies since she entered the league. Ironically, she was also anointed as the new face of women's basketball.

That's why, despite keeping mostly to herself when it comes to this type of stuff, Clark finally opened up on her future legacy after a win over the Toronto Tempo.

Caitlin Clark opens up on how she wants to be remembered 

“A lot of my favorite players growing up, I don’t know how many points they ever ended up scoring, or I don’t know how many three-pointers they made,” Clark said.

“Hopefully, it’s just the impact that you can leave on people and the way you made them feel. And I think that’s kind of been the story of my career. And I hope you know when I’m done playing one day, that’s what people remember the most about me is the way I’ve been able to unite people to cheer on basketball and love a game, or bring people together to you know love a sport in a way that they’ve maybe never have before,“ she added. 

“Like there’s so many people that have come up to me and been like, I’ve never watched women’s basketball before, and I don’t take offense to that. I think that’s a really cool thing to you know bring people in that have maybe never experienced something that I’ve loved all my life, and so I hope you know when I’m done,” Clark continued. “That’s probably the the biggest thing that I’ll probably look back on my career and be proud of is just the amount of people that I’ve been able to bring in and enjoy the game that I’ve always loved since I was a young kid.”

We're living in polarizing times, and some have used Clark to spread their own agendas.

Others criticize her for not standing up for some of the issues most WNBA players care about, even if that means urging her own fans to take a step back.

As valid as that might be to a degree, no one can deny that Clark's game speaks louder than anything.

This season, the Iowa legend is averaging 22.1 points, 8.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per contest. On top of being an MVP candidate, she's made her third All-Star Game in as many seasons in the league.

Clark is just getting started, and it's impossible to know what her true legacy will be once it's all said and done.

Also, it's not like she's the only young star dominating; Paige Bueckers and Olivia Miles are also making a name for themselves, and Hannah Hidalgo and JuJu Watkins are on their way up after college.

That said, no one, not even her biggest hater, can deny what she's already done for the game and how many eyeballs she's drawn toward the WNBA.