NANCY LIEBERMAN RIPS WNBA, PLAYERS OVER CAITLIN CLARK MADNESS! | Schein Time

Now I need to get your take on everything going on surrounding the WNBA's biggest name, Kaitlin Clark. And I love Kaitlin Clark and I love what Candice Parker had to say. She's a legend, Hall of Famer, analyst, and she put WNBA players on blast, and I agree with Candice, for voting Clark as the 11th best guard in the league. Nancy, I want you to take a listen to this. It's also kind of crazy, like, I wholeheartedly believe that there needs to be some rules with the WNBA players, because this is getting out of hand. Kaitlin Clark voted 11th best guard by WNBA players? That's crazy. Kelsey Plum finished 12th in player rank, but she'd be percolating all over your defense. You'd be chasing her downhill on screen. No, it's unserious work. It's kind of crazy. It's unserious work. I think people need to look at themselves in the mirror and realize, man, you've got some insecurities. If you're sitting down and putting Kaitlin Clark as the 11th best guard, y'all need to go to a therapist and figure out what childhood issues you have. Because if you're sitting there and looking at yourself in the mirror and putting her as 11th best guard, and you're putting you as 8th best, like, come on. And Kelsey Plum is the 12th? Now, maybe Gaines, because she's been here. This is crazy. Crazy is a great word choice. Insecurities, from Candace, I thought was a pretty great word choice as well. So you've got that. You've got all these physical incidents this season. You've got Republican lawmakers sending a letter to Kathy Engelbert, the WNBA commissioner on Wednesday, demanding that the league take accountability for multiple attacks. So what the hell is going on here, Nancy? Well, you know, sometimes, what is it? Sometimes when people win the lottery within two years, they lose all their money because they're not used to having that type of access and money. But I will tell you this, I agree 100% with Candace Parker because, I mean, Kaitlin gets the crap beat out of her. It's definitely something that there's jealousy, there's envy, because to me, she's in the top three or four players in this league. Some players play the game. As a matter of fact, you're seeing a lot of players right there that have played the game, and she changed the game. Candace Parker changed the game. Nancy Lieberman changed the game. Tarasi changed the game. There's people like that. But she is the economic engine. So I understand that you should not get in anybody else's pocketbook, because she has made virtually everybody who is under contract now, you will be millionaires if you're not already. And there would be no $2.2 billion in media rights being given to the WNBA. There would not be commercial jets right now given to the WNBA. She accelerated everything. I mean, just look at this. Everything she does, and yeah, she's been injured, unfortunately, but I think people take shots at her, and you do, you gotta look back and go, what kind of insecurities do you have that you don't like this player? Because remember the Jordan rules back in 1984? First of all, I don't know if David Stern said anything to the league or to the union like, hey, man, we can't hurt this guy. He's playing to full arenas everywhere he plays. The ratings going up, the collective bargaining, the money's going up because of what Michael Jordan did to this league. Get your feelings out of this, okay? I had a friend once, I still have him, his name is Warren Buffett, and he told me, do not make decisions based on emotion because you'll almost always make the wrong decision. The players who are taking shots at her right now, you're doing this out of emotion, and it's a bad look. It's a horrible look. Now, I think Congress and the government should stay out of this, in my opinion, but she's the type of player, hey, who was doing the fist pump when he won tournaments with a red jersey, Tiger Woods in the 90s, when he was elevating the attendance and the purses and the TV ratings? I am sorry that you don't move the needle, 99% of the players in the league play in the money, but you don't move the proverbial needle that makes this a business. I'm sorry. It's the way it is, and I was an unpaid pioneer, you're paid pioneers, you have somebody who's doing something special. It's not her fault and Angel Reese's fault that they came into the pros and they had millions and millions of followers from their collegiate career. Timing is everything. I'm not mad at one player in the WNBA for what you have. I am so proud that this league has elevated to give all of you jobs. Clearly, clearly, Asia Wilson is the best player in the world, her consistency, how she handles herself, the MVPs, the championships. She's a winner. Her DNA is to win. She's amazing. That's why she has so many national commercials. That's why Angel has so many national commercials. That's why Kelsey Plum has so many national commercials. Sabrina, her shoe is electric in what she's doing with that shoe overseas. Certainly, Caitlin Clark is at the top. I think she'll be the first $100 million player, female player, in the history of women's pro basketball. You say economic engine, and you nailed it. I don't even bat an eye when you say that's going to be Caitlin's salary, and I agree. She's allowed me, Cheryl Miller, Ann Meyers, all the people you see on TV, on all the different streaming networks that are picking up the league. That's because of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese and Asia Wilson. I'm sorry there's some other great ones out there, but those are the ones that really push the needle. They're needle movers, yeah. Here's the follow, Nancy, which I'm struggling with, because everything you said, I'm nodding along. I'm with you. We're on the exact same page. Now people tune in for Caitlin Clark, and you appreciate the WNBA and other players. Why do you think Caitlin Clark's presence has caused so much turmoil? What do you think has led to so many issues with Caitlin Clark's arrival in the W? Caitlin Clark came into this league with stature. She came in with swag. Who doesn't have swag? I had swag when I came into the league. I had fistfights when I came into the league. I was actually the bully when I came into the league, and I don't think Alyssa Thomas is a bully. She's a physical player. She's like Rick Mahorn. She's like Anthony Mason. She's like Alonzo Mourning was, Rodman was, all those physical players. I was like her. I probably would have fouled out at every game, but because she's so physical, and she is that type of player, do you realize that she has been in the top three for most valuable player the last three or four years? She's won gold medals. People don't even know how good she is, because they're so focused on the physicality, but who else is shooting that shot from three? People were pissed at Steph Curry when he came into the league, and he was shooting those threes, and every kid wanted to be like Steph Curry. Kaitlyn is getting bigger. She's getting stronger. She's going to the rim more. She's going to get more contact. She is, I don't know, her, Olivia Miles, Chelsea Gray, three of the best passers I have ever seen in the history of our game, ever, not just this season, 2026. And I just think we've got to lighten up, play hard, play to win, try and get your team to the playoffs, but don't play dirty, okay? Don't poke her in the eye. Don't hit her when she's not looking and knock her down. And I just saw that Kennedy Carter just got released by the Aces. It really started with that, because that was a blindside chuck. And Kennedy Carter is a hell of a basketball player, but you've got to wonder why nobody keeps her on the roster, right? I always, my favorite thing is, you know, this is why, and you know, somebody else gets that contract. You know, if Becky thought that she could be that player, she'd still be there in Las Vegas. But this league is so great, the competition, you know, Cheryl Reeves is, breaks the all-time of coaches' wins in the WNBA. And I think that's what bothers me, Nancy, the most, that in so many ways, the WNBA is better than ever. Competition, coaching, players, teams, expansion. Fans, the fan base, thank you to all the networks. Arenas are being sold out, yeah, and it drives me nuts that the players, they have this gift with the attention because of Kaitlyn Clark and who she is and what she brings as a needle mover. I love the way you phrase that. You reference, obviously, the Jordan Rules, you reference Warren Buffett, I mean, it's all applicable here. I'm just struggling on how these players at times just don't understand that. It's because it's emotional. They're in their feelings. Like, why am I not getting this? You know what? You might not. Am I on this show going, when people thought I was the best player in the world in the 80s and 90s, am I sitting on your show going, I can't believe what they have? No. It's, you can either support the game or not support the game. I'm not saying you gotta let her just go by you or you have to not let Angel Reese, you know, get double-doubles. I know everybody's trying to stop them, but they came with a fan base. Some of the players in this league did not come with a fan base. How about this? Economics. Michael Jordan never played to an empty seat. Tiger Woods has never played to an empty gallery. LeBron James has never played to an empty seat. Kaitlyn Clark has never played to an empty seat. Because whatever arena she goes into, it's sold out. Very few people have had that power, that following. And I know you're scratching your head going, why are our fans, Enrique I think said this, or Satu, with Dallas a few years ago. They're playing the Wings and people are wearing Kaitlyn Clark jerseys. And to their credit, they said, why aren't you wearing Wings jerseys? And the line outside of these arenas, I mean, I can't tell you why, but we've been friends really since her freshman year in college, and we have a great friendship and relationship and I appreciate my time with her. But she doesn't deserve what she's getting right now. And God knows, if that gal gets hurt, like seriously hurt, you'll see it. You'll see ratings go down. You'll see sponsorship go down. And I'm not saying one woman is just totally responsible, because now we're getting to see more and more greatness in the league. Look what Stewie, I mean, besides Maya Moore, who's the biggest winner in women's basketball history? Stewie. Yep. She's still doing it. She won four championships at UConn. She won championships, I think, two or three with Seattle, I could be wrong. She won with the Liberty. She's unbelievable. There's so many great players in this league. Look at Nneka, a boomerang. I mean, she's playing lights out. She's going to make the all-star team for, I don't know, 12th year in a row. But people are starting to see the enormous amount of talent that this league has. And that's what we want, because, and I'll put a period on this. There's a two-year-old that none of us know, and in 20 years, because of what these women are doing, in 20 years, she's going to be making $15, $20 million a year. I know we were fighting to be millionaires. That little girl is going to have generational wealth because of what this group of women did, because you're pioneers. You got nothing on me and Sarah Miller and Anne Meyers. You're pioneers, just let's, and you get to play, and I love watching you play. I am the biggest WNBA fan. I make sure when I go to the Wings game that I shake hands with Jackie Young and like the ones that are good friends of mine in the league. I want you to know I respect you, I appreciate you, and I'll buy a ticket to see you play. That's how good you are. Incredible stuff.