ESPN analyst Jay Williams took some heat on Saturday for his bizarre take on Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.
On ESPN’s “College GameDay,” Williams called Clark the “Stephen Curry of women’s college basketball,” and credited her with changing the way the game is played. However, he also refused to refer to her as “great” because she has failed to win a championship.
Jay Williams is unwilling to say that Caitlin Clark is great…yet pic.twitter.com/zCxyUbV8bm
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 17, 2024
“I am unwilling, and maybe it’s more of the Kobe mentorship around me, to say that she is great yet,” Williams said. “I think that she is the most prolific scorer the game has ever seen. I hold great, or levels of immortality or the pantheon, to when you win championships. That’s just me. … It has to culminate with a ‘ship. It has to. I’m not saying that she’s not at a high high high level, but for her to go to the states of immortality, in my opinion, it has to culminate with your team winning a championship.”
Social media quickly pounced on Williams for what many dubbed a ridiculous opinion.
jay williams saying caitlin clark isn't an all time great player is egregious. and doing it two days after she set the all time scoring record?? cmon.
what an embarrassing take. pic.twitter.com/Y9092imptC
— Logan (@loganstephens24) February 17, 2024
And the worst take of the day goes to…
Jay Williams 👏🏼 https://t.co/uEhzWDGgCM pic.twitter.com/A4qI8CS2e9
— Hawkeye Bernie (@HawkeyeBernie) February 17, 2024
While I get the championships argument, this is brutal from Jay Williams saying he’s “unwilling” to call Caitlin Clark great… ESPECIALLY bringing up Kobe as a reason
There’s not a doubt in my mind Kobe & his family would have been there in person to see Caitlin break the record pic.twitter.com/N3IlotR2Cg
— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) February 17, 2024
Congrats to the last player on the bench for LSU last year. You are great. Better than CC. Leave it to Jay Williams, noted ESPN employee where all this GOT RINGS BRO culture started. https://t.co/TlZXWloMY5
— Cody Foster (@Co2dy_Foster) February 17, 2024
So by the ‘Jay Williams Standard’, Barry Sanders was a prolific runner but he wasn’t great. WHAT?!? https://t.co/LjCmseokh4
— Jon Jansen (@JonJansen77) February 17, 2024
It is a ridiculous take from Williams. He is free to judge players as he wishes, but Clark dragged an Iowa team without top-tier depth to the championship game against LSU last year. It sounds even more ridiculous since he is asserting Clark is not “great” while simultaneously praising her as the best scorer in the history of the game.
This is not the first time Williams has invited criticism for some silly commentary. It probably won’t be the last, either.
