Victor Wembanyama revealed that Caitlin Clark is the only college basketball player to ever leave him “in awe” of their play.
The French phenom was selected first overall in the 2023 NBA draft, a year before the Indiana Fever drafted Clark with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.
It came after Clark enjoyed a historic career with the Iowa Hawkeyes, during which she became one of the biggest stars in the sport.
Ahead of the new NBA season, 7ft 4in star Wembanyama praised Clark, who was recently named Rookie of the Year.
When asked to name a WNBA player who inspires him, the San Antonio Spurs center said: ‘Caitlin Clark’
“When she was in college, she was the only college player whose game I was really in awe of,” Wembanyama explained.
NBA star Victor Wembanyama has words of praise for WNBA counterpart Caitlin Clark
“I say, men’s and women’s college basketball, she’s probably the most impressive I’ve ever seen.”
During her four-year career at Iowa, Clark set a new NCAA scoring record and won consecutive national player of the year awards.
On Friday, she finally got her hands on the WNBA Rookie of the Year trophy after fending off competition from Angel Reese to win the award.
The Indiana Fever sensation received a whopping 66 of 67 votes to claim the award after a historic rookie season – with an unnamed reporter causing controversy by selecting Chicago Sky forward Reese instead.
A beaming Caitlin Clark finally holds the WNBA Rookie of the Year trophy
That’s despite the former LSU star failing to make the postseason with Chicago, while Clark guided Indiana to its first playoff berth since 2016.
The worst-kept secret in the WNBA was finally confirmed Thursday after Clark, who is currently in the midst of another fierce race, was named Rookie of the Year for her record-breaking debut campaign.
A day later, she posed with the award in a photo shared by the Fever, who were swept by the Connecticut Sun in the first round of the playoffs last week.
Although it wasn’t announced until Thursday, Clark heard she would win Rookie of the Year during a Fever practice before the team’s playoff opener at Connecticut last week.