Discussions about the greatest player of all time are subjective.
Statistics, personal accolades and winning are, of course, fact-based, but the importance a person puts on each when establishing their argument varies.
For some, 50% of their reasoning might go to how many titles a player has, 25% to stats and the other 25% to personal accolades. Others will throw their entire crusade behind a player’s individual accomplishments and records. Common elements in every argument include a player’s supporting cast, coach and any roadblocks that might have threatened their success.
With 40 minutes separating Iowa star Caitlin Clark from her WNBA career, it’s time to lay to rest whether she is the GOAT of the women’s college game.
Clark could go a long way toward silencing all discussions on the matter in the NCAA women’s title game Sunday against South Carolina.
All she needs is a win.
‘‘Ya, she does,’’ former UConn star Breanna Stewart said with a half-smile when she was asked whether Clark needs a championship to be in the GOAT discussion. ‘‘You’re going to look 10 years back and see all the records she’s broken and stuff like that. But anybody knows your goal when you play college basketball is to win a national championship.”
It’s a fair point. Coming from Stewart, who won four titles during her four years at UConn, it actually means something, too, compared to the average troll on social media.
But Stewart’s four titles also point to a flaw in her argument. That flaw is that the GOAT’s supporting cast matters.
Stewart was one of eight future WNBA players on the four UConn rosters she was a part of from 2012 to 2016. In Clark’s four years with the Hawkeyes, her supporting cast she has played with pales by comparison.
Last season, when Clark led Iowa past undefeated South Carolina in the national semifinals and into the NCAA title game for the first time in program history, she did it without a single WNBA-caliber player alongside her.
One could argue — and many have — that makes her even more worthy of GOAT status.
During her time with the Hawkeyes, Clark has led them to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, three Big Ten titles and one conference regular-season title. Individually, her accolades read like a laundry list of achievements.
This season, she has averaged a nation-leading 31.7 points to go with nine assists. Her name is all over the college record books, from becoming the NCAA’s all-time Division I scoring leader — men or women — to becoming the only D1 women’s player to score more than 1,000 points in consecutive seasons.
Last week, she became the first player since Stewart to win back-to-back Naismith Player of the Year awards. Stewart won the award three seasons in a row (2014-16).
Off the court, Clark has helped the women’s game break even more records. All season, Iowa played in front of sold-out crowds and set new broadcasting marks.
On Friday, 14.2 million people tuned in for the Hawkeyes’ 71-69 victory against UConn. It was ESPN’s highest audience for any basketball game on record. The previous record for the most-watched women’s college basketball game was set Monday when 12.3 million viewers tuned in to watch Iowa beat LSU in the Elite Eight.
Regardless of the GOAT equations, there’s no denying Clark is, at the very least, among the greatest players with or without a national title. On Sunday, however, she’ll have an opportunity to give the naysayers one fewer thing to use as an argument against her.
All it’ll take is the greatest performance of her already-heroic career in her last dance on the college stage — and even that might not be enough to steal a title from undefeated South Carolina.
You can bet, however, that more records will be broken.
