Caitlin Clark’s first look as a studio contributor on NBC’s NBA protection was supposed to mark one other step within the enlargement of her platform. As an alternative, it grew to become a flashpoint for a a lot bigger dialog—one about comparisons, standing, and tips on how to discuss a participant whose worth is just not tied to a job however to a complete system.
Clark joined NBC’s “Sunday Evening Basketball” pregame present forward of the New York Knicks–Los Angeles Lakers matchup, sitting alongside host Maria Taylor and analysts Reggie Miller and Carmelo Anthony. What adopted shortly prolonged far past the printed, partially as a result of it collided with years of present context round how Clark’s recreation has already been mentioned by NBA friends.
What Truly Occurred On NBC
Throughout the section, Taylor requested the panel which NBA participant Clark reminded them of. Miller answered first, pointing to Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard.
“I like Payton Pritchard from Boston. The way in which he’s capable of deal with the basketball. He makes large photographs when the shot clock’s operating down. Quite a bit like this younger woman proper right here,” Miller mentioned. “He isn’t afraid of the massive second and is a champion like she is quickly to be.”
Who’s Caitlin Clark’s NBA comp?Reggie Miller: “I like Payton Pritchard.”Carmelo: “It will be Luka for me.”
(by way of @NBAonNBC) pic.twitter.com/4aRKQJexNg
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) February 2, 2026
Social clips and digicam angles shortly magnified Clark’s response. Her preliminary smile pale right into a extra reserved, poker-faced look as she glanced downward — a second that went viral and was extensively interpreted as shock. The visible, as a lot because the comparability itself, fueled the response and reframed how the remark was obtained.
Anthony adopted instantly, reframing the dialogue.
“Reggie went with Payton Pritchard,” Anthony mentioned. “I see extra Luka Dončić in her — the best way she controls the sport as a scorer and passer.”
The shift was fast, and for a lot of viewers, corrective.
Why The Pritchard Comparability Blew Up
Miller’s comparability was not dismissive in intent. Pritchard is a trusted rotation guard, the reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Yr, and a key contributor on a loaded Celtics roster. Miller’s particular skill-based factors — ball-handling, late-clock confidence, fearlessness — had been affordable.
The backlash centered on scale.
Clark, 24, is already a two-time WNBA All-Star, the 2024 assists champion, the 2024 Rookie of the Yr, and a member of the All-Rookie Group and All-WNBA Group. When wholesome, she features because the engine of Indiana’s offense, not a complementary piece.
Throughout the 2025 season, which has now concluded, Clark averaged 16.5 factors, 8.8 assists, and 5.0 rebounds whereas drawing fixed defensive consideration. Throughout her profession, she has produced 18.5 factors, 5.5 rebounds, and eight.5 assists per recreation, numbers that mirror sustained excessive utilization and organizational duty.
Paul Pierce says it’s a embarrassment that Reggie Miller in contrast Caitlin Clark to Payton Pritchard
“Like she had the look of like Bro, I used to be considering extra Steph Curry. Her talent set and her magnetic pull. They’re not doubling him all over the place face guarding denying him like they… pic.twitter.com/CVR34ND2Wy
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) February 2, 2026
Even throughout stretches the place her capturing effectivity fluctuated — 36.7% from the sphere and 27.9% from three final season — defensive recreation plans remained centered on limiting her vary, decision-making, and skill to regulate tempo. That function hole is the crux. Miller’s comparability was extensively learn not as a critique of Clark’s expertise, however as an undersell of her affect.
Carmelo Anthony’s Framing Match Clark’s Actuality
Anthony’s Luka Dončić comparability resonated as a result of it centered on management slightly than archetype. Clark’s recreation, like that of Dončić, is constructed round dictating tempo, manipulating coverages, and shaping possessions as each a scorer and facilitator.
The timing mattered. In the identical NBC look, Clark spoke brazenly about how a lot she research Dončić’s capacity to attain and go whereas taking part in at his personal tempo. Anthony’s remark aligned instantly with Clark’s personal reference level, grounding the comparability in how she herself conceptualizes the sport.
Clark Attracts Comparisons to Stephen Curry and Trae Younger
Properly earlier than Sunday evening’s broadcast, Clark’s recreation had already drawn public reward from NBA stars — feedback that weren’t made in response to the NBC second, however resurfaced as a result of they continue to be related to how her affect is known.
In 2024, Stephen Curry spoke about Clark’s capturing and its broader affect on defensive construction.
“No shot is a nasty shot when you possibly can shoot it in addition to she will be able to,” Curry instructed ESPN, describing Clark as fearless and emphasizing that when she crosses half court docket, she is already in vary — a structural problem defenses “can’t actually game-plan for.”
These remarks predate Clark’s NBC debut, however they proceed to flow into as a result of they body her worth in systemic phrases slightly than box-score manufacturing. Curry additionally famous that Clark’s capturing gravity typically obscures how full her ground recreation is, forcing defenses into fixed pick-your-poison selections.
Caitlin Clark says Luka Dončić is the participant she watches probably the most so as to add to her recreation. pic.twitter.com/ZGqDbGrMdu
— Luka Updates (@LukaUpdates) February 2, 2026
Equally, Trae Younger has lengthy been one other NBA participant generally talked about in Clark discussions. His personal feedback, made in July on the “From The Level” podcast, framed Clark much less as a direct stylistic mirror and extra as a generational inflection level.
“It’s similar to each different sport. The evolution in every part goes to proceed to get higher,” Younger mentioned. “I imply, the gamers now are watching Caitlin and seeing what they’re doing and wish to simply add that to their recreation and possibly add slightly little bit of spice.”
Younger later projected that Clark’s affect would echo far into the longer term, pointing to the best way her type is already being absorbed by youthful gamers. Importantly, these remarks weren’t tied to the NBC second, however resurfaced as a part of the broader dialog it reopened.
Luka’s Quote Clarifies How Friends See Her
Dončić has supplied one of many cleanest snapshots of how Clark is seen by elite friends. In a 2024 media availability, he described her in blunt phrases.
“That’s the ladies’s Steph Curry,” Dončić mentioned. “She will shoot it higher than me.”
Dončić bolstered how Clark is seen not as a novelty, however as a shooter whose confidence and vary pressure elementary changes from defenses. At her ceiling, Clark can resemble 8-time NBA All-Star Steve Nash. Different comparisons embrace Portland Path Blazers star Damian Lillard.
A Second That Uncovered A Larger Hole
Clark’s NBC debut didn’t linger due to a single comparability. It caught as a result of it highlighted the widening hole between how gamers are sometimes mentioned and what Clark already represents.
She is just not a job piece to be match into an archetype. She is a major engine — organizing offense, warping defenses, and shifting the enterprise needle on the identical time.
That actuality has solely sharpened the give attention to what comes subsequent. After an injury-shortened stretch and restoration from a groin damage, many across the recreation are eagerly awaiting Clark’s return to the court docket with Group USA in March, a stage that figures to place her affect again in movement in actual time.
The talk Sunday evening didn’t outline her. It underscored how a lot the game continues to be catching as much as her.
