Caitlin Clark’s hype gets compared to ‘Linsanity,’ ex-NCAA player slams Fever star

He added, “She’s not even the best guard from her college class because that’s Paige Bueckers, who plays for Dallas, who beat them in the season opener.”

The Bueckers comparison gave the criticism its sharpest edge. Dallas beat Indiana 107-104 in the opener, with Bueckers scoring 20 points on efficient shooting while Clark also finished with 20 points but struggled from three.

That result gave critics a clean storyline. Clark remains the bigger commercial force, but Bueckers got the first win in their latest head-to-head chapter.

Johnson used that game to argue that the basketball conversation is starting to catch up with the hype.

Caitlin Clark’s Linsanity comparison turns brutally personal

Johnson then pushed the criticism beyond one game, comparing Clark’s rise to Jeremy Lin’s famous 2012 run with the New York Knicks.

“This could be a situation where this could all we look back on Caitlin Clark, and we’re not gonna look back on her like she’s Michael Jordan. She’s Jeremy Lin. This is just ‘Linsanity,’” Johnson concluded.

That is a harsh comparison because Linsanity was electric, but brief. Lin became a global story almost overnight, then settled into a solid NBA career rather than a superstar one.

Johnson’s point was that Clark’s fame may be bigger than her actual place in the WNBA hierarchy. That is the part that will anger Fever fans most.

The counterargument is obvious. Clark’s impact has already lasted longer than a short viral burst, and her pull on ratings, ticket sales, and merchandise has changed the league’s business reality.

Still, Johnson’s criticism shows where the next phase of Clark discourse is headed. The hype is no longer being judged only by attention, but by whether she can consistently separate herself from players like Bueckers on the court.

Read more:

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• Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark reveals her golf dream with LeBron James