Jay Bilas examines Caitlin Clark's legacy after breaking scoring record

ESPN’s Jay Bilas was simply blown away by Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. Heck, that’s been the theme pretty much her whole career.

Clark broke the NCAA women’s scoring record but it’s more than that for Bilas. Clark is a trailblazer in the sport of basketball.

In fact, her legacy could go down in history as an all-timer in more than her on-the-court talent.

“Caitlin Clark is a phenomenon and it goes beyond just breaking the record,” Bilas said on SportsCenter. “She has captured the imagination of the entire basketball landscape, nationally. Every sports fan knows who Caitlin Clark is. And when you go back to significant figures in the game, I think of what Billie Jean King meant to tennis, that she was a pioneer and a trailblazer. I’m not comparing Caitlin Clark’s significance to Billie Jean King, but it’s the same kind of thing.” 

Bilas could put Clark into the GOAT conversation when it comes to women’s basketball. Heck, she might be when it’s all said and done, coupling an elite college career and potential all-star pro career.

But it’s not just that, as Bilas further elaborated.

“It’s not just about whether she’s the best basketball player, whether she’s better than Diana Taurasi, or Cheryl Miller or Maya Moore, as the greatest player ever, things like that,” Bilas said. “It’s the significance that she has in the game. She has raised the level of the game, the joy with which she plays, she’s brought so many young girls into basketball and has allowed them to dream about being like her. 

“And in that regard, I don’t think we’ll ever see someone like her again and we should enjoy her while we have her because Caitlin Clark is a phenomenon unlike anything we’ve ever seen in women’s basketball or basketball period. She’s amazing.”

Clark set the right example after setting the record. She didn’t want to make it about herself, instead propped up her teammates and wanted the focus back on the Iowa Hawkeyes as a whole.

“Absolutely, I would love that,” Clark said postgame. “And I think, you know, obviously getting this record is tremendous and has to be celebrated and there’s been so many people that come before me and, you know, laid such a great foundation for women’s basketball and that has to be celebrated too.

“And I’m just very thankful for that. But like you said, like, we’re getting into the best part of basketball season like these are the times where your team really shows who they are and I always believe coach Bluder has us playing our best basketball into February and the beginning of March.”