Caitlin Clark Praises Stephen Curry, 'Excited' to Play at Warriors, Valkyries Arena

Caitlin Clark will be playing in the house Stephen Curry built when she and the Indiana Fever take the floor at Chase Center to face the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday, and she had nothing but love for the Golden State Warriors legend.

"I grew up watching Steph," she told reporters. "To me, he's one of the greatest basketball players of all time. … He's really changed the way basketball is played. Maybe at times, me and him both, kids shouldn't always just go and chuck up a bunch of threes. … But it's cool to be here. He's someone I certainly idolize."

Clark also said she is "excited" to play in the same stadium as the future Hall of Famer.

The Fever star chuckled when she made the comment about how perhaps young players shouldn't launch long-range three-pointers like she and Curry does, which was notable since she is changing the WNBA in many of the same ways Curry did in the NBA.

Defenders have to pick her up well beyond the three-point arc, which creates openings for her teammates and shifts the floor on the offensive side.

And when defenders don't press up on her to take away those long shots, she is capable of taking over a game from beyond the arc.

Things have been clicking for Clark and the Fever since she returned from a quad injury that sidelined her for five games, in large part because of her ability to create so many looks for herself and others. Indiana won each of the last two contests against the New York Liberty and Connecticut Sun to improve to 6-5.

Clark drilled a combined 11 three-pointers in those contests while shooting 55 percent from deep with numbers that even Curry might envy.

She has a long way to go to match the Warriors star's 4,058 career three-pointers at 144, but she changes the game in much the same way. Given that backdrop, it comes as anything but a surprise to hear she idolizes Curry even as she continues to dominate in her own right.