Besides their ability to drain logo threes like layups, Stephen Curry and Caitlin Clark share several other similarities. Neither player attended a high-profile college but became household names for their scoring exploits, with Curry winning one NCAA scoring title and Clark three (including the all-time record). Upon going pro, both players struggled to cope with physical defenses even while showing flashes of greatness.
Furthermore, both sharpshooters were doubted by their own peers. In Curry's early years, the narrative surrounding him was that he was "just a shooter" and not an all-around player. Four NBA titles later, Curry continues to prove his peers wrong.
Clark has been dealing with some of the same stuff in her young WNBA career. After being knocked to the floor in a non-basketball play, Chennedy Carter, the offender, wrote on social media, "...beside three-point shooting, what does she bring to the table, man?"
Watching Clark's WNBA rookie campaign from afar, Warriors coach Steve Kerr has compared her early struggles to that of Curry in the NBA.
"I think it's kind of a right of passage for young players, whether it's the WNBA or the NBA. The other players are going to test you," Kerr told "The 11th Hour" on MSNBC. "And actually, Caitlin reminds me a lot of Steph Curry. A lot of people may not remember this, but in Steph's first couple of years, he was not a superstar. He was not who he is now. He had to get stronger, he had to understand people were coming after him. That's what is happening with Caitlin right now."
"I think it's all in the name of competition. She's handling herself beautifully," Kerr continued. "She's an amazing player, but like every college player who comes into the WNBA or the NBA, it takes time. They've got to get stronger, more used to the contact, the physicality, the athleticism. So she'll be fine, and I think everything she's going through right now is just all part of being a pro."
Curry and Clark could potentially share the same stage when the Warriors host next year's All-Star game. There have been rumblings of the NBA organizing a 2-on-2 three-point shooting contest pitting Curry and Klay Thompson against Clark and Sabrina Ionescu, a year after Curry faced Ionescu in a first-of-a-kind intergender contest.
