Dawn Staley: A championship would 'seal the deal' for Caitlin Clark as the GOAT

There’s been a great debate around women’s basketball as Caitlin Clark rewrote the record book this season. The NCAA’s all-time leading scorer and three-point shooter is putting together an all-time resume, except there’s one thing missing – a championship.

Throughout the year, the topic of Clark’s legacy has been hotly debated. That came up again Friday when UConn legend Breanna Stewart said the Iowa star needs to win a championship to become “one of the greats” during a SiriusXM interview.

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Dawn Staley knows this conversation well, and she pointed out Stewart’s credentials when talking about Clark’s situation. She then argued a ring would put Clark atop the GOAT conversation. But she also made it clear her South Carolina team has other plans.

“I was really good in college. Never won a championship,” Staley told reporters Saturday morning. “Yeah, you’ve got to win a championship. You’ve got to win a championship. That’s me, personally. I had a great career. But it’s always, did you win a championship? Went to the Final Four three times. We never won. I agree with Stewie when it comes to winning a championship. If we’re gonna talk about GOATs, I think she’s the GOAT – to be able to win four national championships and to be MVP. I think she was MVP all four times.

“If Caitlin wins a championship, she’s pretty damn good. She’s the GOAT. I mean, she’s pretty damn good regardless. But winning a championship would seal the deal. I hope to the dear Lord she doesn’t.”

Breanna Stewart: The goal is to win a championship

Caitlin Clark’s list of achievements speaks for itself. She not only passed Kelsey Plum to break the NCAA women’s all-time scoring record this season, but also moved past “Pistol” Pete Maravich for the Division I men’s and women’s record. She also broke the NCAA’s all-time three-pointers record to cement her status as the No. 1 overall pick in this month’s WNBA Draft.

But without a championship, Stewart – who not only won four titles at UConn, but brought home two more in the WNBA – said it changes how Clark is talked about long after her career ends.

“Because then, you’re gonna look 10 years back and you’re gonna see all the records she’s broken and the points and stuff like that,” Stewart said. “But anybody knows your goal when you play college basketball is to win a national championship. So, you need one.”

The road to a title runs through Dawn Staley and South Carolina during Sunday’s national championship.