Why ESPN's Jay Williams is unwilling to say that Caitlin Clark is 'great'

Caitlin Clark is now the highest-scoring player in women’s basketball history.

But not everyone’s a believer.

During Saturday’s “College GameDay” show, ESPN’s Jay Williams said he is not convinced that the Iowa star is among the all-time greats.

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“I think the way she plays, the pizzazz, is, she’s probably the most prolific scorer the game of basketball has ever seen,” Williams said, comparing her to Golden State Warriors champion Stephen Curry. “I am unwilling … to say that she is great yet.”

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (22) reacts to a call while playing Michigan Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.

Clark broke the record on Thursday with a logo three-point shot to pass Kelsey Plum. Clark now has 3,569 points and a chance to eclipse Pete Maravich’s NCAA record 3,667 points.

Williams, who won a national championship with Duke in 2001, said that winning a title is what ultimately puts a player in the “greatness” category.

As examples of who he deems worthy of the descriptor, Williams mentioned Connecticut Huskies legends Diana Taurasi, who won three straight national championships and back-to-back national player of the year awards, and Breanna Stewart, who won four consecutive titles and the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award in each appearance.

“I’m not saying that she’s not at a high, high, high level,” he said of Clark, “but for it to go to the states of immortality in my opinion, it has to culminate with your team winning a championship.”

Clark took the Hawkeyes to the national championship game last season. They lost to the LSU Tigers 102-85 in the highest-scoring women’s title game in history. Clark had 30 points in the bout.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why ESPN’s Jay Williams is unwilling to say that Caitlin Clark is ‘great’