Former Philadelphia radio host likens Caitlin Clark’s WNBA rise to Jeremy Lin’s ‘Linsanity’
Tyrone Johnson, a former Philadelphia sports radio host, said on SportsGrid’s “The Craig Carton Show” that the height of Caitlin Clark’s popularity in the WNBA has passed, comparing her to NBA guard Jeremy Lin during his 2012 “Linsanity” surge with the New York Knicks.[1][2]
“The Caitlin Clark thing is over because she’s not the best player in the WNBA,” Johnson said. “She’s not the best guard in the WNBA. She’s not even the best guard from her college class because that’s Paige Bueckers, who plays for [the] Dallas [Wings]… This could be a situation where we look back on Caitlin Clark, and we’re not gonna look back on her like she’s Michael Jordan. She’s Jeremy Lin. This is just Linsanity.”[1][2]
Johnson criticized Clark for attending a Morgan Wallen concert and for frequently complaining to referees, saying, “this girl had the world by the balls. She had everybody loving her.”[1] He noted Wallen’s past use of a racial slur.[1]
Clark was selected first overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft and named Rookie of the Year after averaging 19.2 points and 8.4 assists per game over 40 regular-season games.[3][4]
During a 17-game stretch with the Knicks in 2012, Lin averaged 20.7 points and 8.5 assists per game, highlighted by a 38-point performance against the Los Angeles Lakers on February 10 and a game-winning 3-pointer against the Toronto Raptors.[5][6] Lin never made an All-Star team but finished seventh in NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2015-16.[5]
Awful Announcing described Johnson’s comments as a “hot take”; Johnson replied that it was “the bestest” take.[1][2]
Sources
- Fox News
Article title: Talking head is off the Caitlin Clark train, compares WNBA star’s popularity to Jeremy Lin’s Linsanity
Publication date: December 5, 2024
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/talking-head-caitlin-clark-train-compares-wnba-stars-popularity-jeremy-lins-linsanity - Awful Announcing
Article title: Ex-Philly radio host compares Caitlin Clark to Jeremy Lin, says her popularity peak is over
Publication date: December 5, 2024
https://awfulannouncing.com/wnba/tyrone-johnson-caitlin-clark-jeremy-lin-linsanity.html - WNBA.com
Article title: Caitlin Clark Named 2024 Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year
Publication date: September 20, 2024
https://www.wnba.com/news/caitlin-clark-named-2024-kia-wnba-rookie-of-the-year - Basketball-Reference.com
Page title: Caitlin Clark WNBA Stats
Accessed date: December 2024
https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/players/c/clarkca01w.html - Basketball-Reference.com
Page title: Jeremy Lin NBA Stats
Accessed date: December 2024
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/linjere01.html - ESPN.com
Article title: Jeremy Lin’s Linsanity: By the Numbers
Publication date: March 5, 2012
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/7681248/jeremy-lin-linsanity-numbers
