Caitlin Clark Praised by Magic's Paolo Banchero in Response over National TV Games

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has been all over national television since making her WNBA debut, and Orlando Magic All-Star forward Paolo Banchero is in full support of the push.

In response to a post on X about the fact that Clark's games have already been featured more times on ESPN than Banchero's games over the course of his two seasons in the NBA, Banchero posted the following:

Clark's WNBA career is just four games old, but given her status as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft and the fact that she was one of the biggest stars in women's college basketball history at Iowa, the league and ESPN are understandably giving her as much exposure as possible.

While every indication is that Clark will be a superstar for many years to come, her WNBA career is off to a rough start from an overall team perspective.

Clark is averaging a solid 17.0 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game, but the Fever are 0-4, underscoring why they had the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft in the first place.

As for Banchero, he is coming off a highly successful and somewhat surprising season with the Magic.

Banchero was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft out of Duke, and while there was much debate regarding whether the pick should have been him, Chet Holmgren or Jabari Smith Jr., he has lived up to the top billing thus far.

During his debut season in 2022-23, Banchero averaged 20.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 three-pointers made per game, earning him NBA Rookie of the Year honors in a landslide vote.

Even so, the Magic went just 34-48 and missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

Improvement was expected in 2023-24, but Banchero and Co. took a far bigger step than most thought, going 47-35 and securing the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Banchero himself made significant strides as well, averaging 22.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.5 three-pointers made per game en route to his first career All-Star selection.

Since Banchero and the Magic won't be sneaking up on anyone next season, it is likely they will be featured far more in nationally televised games, but until then, Banchero clearly isn't jealous about Clark getting her flowers.