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WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes has caught a lot of flak among the women's basketball community for claims she has made about Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark over the past 18 or so months.

And while Swoopes does deserve criticism for inaccurate assertions she made about Clark's success in college (such as getting her time spent at Iowa wrong by a full year and incorrectly depicting how many shots she averaged per game), these comments going viral have sparked a narrative that Swoopes has nothing but negative things to say about No. 22.

This isn't the case, however, which is shown by recent praise Swoopes has given Clark, such as praising her deal with Nike and lamenting how referees handled the viral scuffle between her and Jacy Sheldon last month.

And Swoopes made another positive claim about Clark during a July 15 episode of the Gil's Arena podcast.

"The best part of her game to me is her passing," Swoopes said of Clark. "Her ability to see s*** before everybody else sees it, she gets the ball where it needs to be. Like, I have zero hate for her. I appreciate her game."

However, Swoopes then felt compelled to add, "What I don't appreciate is all the ugly nastiness that comes with it, right?" She later said that she has no problem with fans having certain favorite players and rocking with them, but this tribalism sometimes gets blown out of proportion among Clark's fans.

Swoops seems to be alluding to her distaste toward Clark's fan base with these later comments. Regardless, it's nice to hear her speak so highly about what No. 22 can do on the basketball court.

This article first appeared on Women's Fastbreak on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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