Basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes dismissed the idea that Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark will “dominate” the WNBA as a rookie.

“For me, it is very impressive what Caitlin has achieved in such a short time,” she said on Gil’s Arena of Clark’s improvement after the All-Star break. “…I still don’t think she’s dominant, but she’s a different player than she was in the first half of the season.”

Swoopes added that she “never questioned whether Caitlin was a good player,” and referred to previous comments she made, saying that neither Clark nor Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky would put up college-level numbers immediately after entering the WNBA.

Fans of Clark and the Fever will interpret this as Swoopes taking another swipe at the 2024 No. 1 pick due to the lengthy saga that connects the two.

There’s no doubt that Clark has hit a turning point in her first year back from the WNBA’s offseason. Since play resumed, she’s averaged 24.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists, breaking a number of team and league records, and is the player everyone expected from Iowa.

Given her performance over the last month, it is no exaggeration to call the 6’0″ defender a dominant player.

At the same time, putting forward a counter-argument is not entirely unfair.

Clark isn’t done on defense yet, so she’s a two-way star like A’ja Wilson, Alyssa Thomas or Napheesa Collier. Her assists are league-leading and she has by far the most turnovers in a single season (220 and counting). And she’s shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from beyond the three-point line, which isn’t elite for a defender.

More importantly, this whole discussion may be premature considering Clark hasn’t been tested in the playoffs yet.

If the Fever get knocked out in the first round and their best player doesn’t perform well, the way people analyze her game is bound to change. On the other hand, if her regular-season stats carry over into the postseason, her status as a “dominant” talent will be much less controversial.