Sheryl Swoopes has sparked controversy with her latest remarks about Indiana Fever’s rookie sensation Caitlin Clark.

Instead of softening her previous critique, the WNBA legend took the opportunity during a recent appearance on Gilbert Arenas’ podcast, Gil’s Arena, to further question Clark‘s role on the team.

Swoopes suggested that Clark‘s presence could potentially push some of her Indiana Fever teammates away, sparking fresh debate around the rising star.

“There’s a lot of other s*** going on, that players are like ‘This ain’t where I want to be,'” Swoopes noted. “You have players that are very significant on this Indiana Fever team that are like ‘I don’t know if this is where I want to be.'”

Dekker responds to Swoopes

Former NBA player Sam Dekker was quick to respond to Swoopes’ comment, offering a strong rebuttal. Drawing from his own experience playing with James Harden during his time with the Houston Rockets, Dekker disagreed with the notion that a star player like Clark would alienate her teammates.

He recalled how Harden, despite being in the spotlight as an MVP candidate, was able to maintain a strong team dynamic.

“Being on the Rockets with Prime Harden was the best s**t ever,” Dekker wrote on X. “We were on National TV all the time, won a ton of huge games in awesome moments, and he made the game incredibly easy for guys like me. I don’t believe for a second that the team dislikes it.”

Though there’s no solid proof that Clark‘s popularity has created any friction within the Fever, the team’s recent success on the court tells a different story.

They’ve been playing well and seem to be hitting their stride, suggesting that Clark‘s presence is contributing positively rather than causing division.