Game recognizes game.
Chiefs quarterback and two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes is gearing up for a shot at his third Super Bowl ring, but he still had time to speak on one of the biggest stories in sports.
When asked about Iowa superstar (and Chiefs fan) Caitlin Clark ahead of the Super Bowl, Mahomes did not hesitate to praise the sharpshooter.
“I think she’s close to breaking [the NCAA women’s scoring record] on Super Bowl Sunday, so I don’t know if I’ll get to see it,” Mahomes told The Sporting News’ Riley Trujillo. “Just a tremendous player and a tremendous person. I’ve met with her and talked, you can tell she loves the game. She loves playing at Iowa.”
Mahomes didn’t stop there. He went on to crown Clark as one of the GOATs in college basketball history.
“She’s one of the best college basketball players to ever play,” Mahomes continued. “[She’ll] go to the WNBA and dominate there as well. I hope I never have to play her one-on-one because she’ll for sure be getting buckets on me.”
“She’s one of the best college basketball players to ever play. [She’ll] go to the WNBA and dominate there as well. Hopefully I never have to play her one-on-one because she’ll for sure be getting buckets on me.”
Mahomes on the greatness of @CaitlinClark22 😂 pic.twitter.com/iUr2tzwjkR
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) February 6, 2024
Clark is taking the basketball world by storm and bringing unprecedented attention to women’s college hoops. The reigning National Player of the Year has only improved in her senior season, averaging a jaw-dropping 32.4 points while shooting 40.1% on 13.2 (!) 3-point attempts per game.
For comparison, Stephen Curry averaged 30.1 points while shooting 45.4% on 11.2 3-point attempts per game during his unanimous MVP season in 2015-16. What Clark is doing in her senior year stacks up against the greatest NBA shooter of all time.
As Mahomes mentioned, Clark is knocking on the door of the NCAA women’s scoring record — and the moment could come on Super Bowl Sunday.
MORE: Caitlin Clark scoring title tracker: When will Iowa star pass Kelsey Plum, Pete Maravich?
Will Caitlin Clark break women’s NCAA scoring record on Super Bowl Sunday?
Clark is just 65 points shy (3,462) of University of Washington star and Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum’s record (3,527).
Iowa hosts Penn State on Thursday, Feb. 8, before traveling to Nebraska for a game at 1 p.m. ET on the day of the Super Bowl (Feb. 11), just five and a half hours before kickoff.
With her current scoring pace, Clark would need just one above-average game to break the record on the same day that the Chiefs, her favorite NFL team, potentially wins the Super Bowl.
Caitlin Clark’s Chiefs fandom, explained
Clark is from West Des Moines, Iowa, a state where there is, of course, no NFL team.
Her dad and her brother were both Chiefs fans, so Clark never had a choice but to join her family in Chiefs Kingdom.
“It’s not something I just hopped on the bandwagon when we got really, really good,” Clark said in a “Defending the Kingdom” interview in November. “I’ve always been a true fan, don’t worry about that.”
College hoops royalty ✅
Lifelong @Chiefs fan ✅Welcome to tonight’s ManningCast, Caitlin Clark! pic.twitter.com/07qCR1X3QI
— Omaha Productions (@OmahaProd) November 20, 2023
MORE: How Caitlin Clark became a Chiefs fan growing up
Clark credited the Chiefs’ free-flowing style of play for roping her in even more, comparing it to the way she likes to play basketball.
Since then, she has formed a friendship with star QB Mahomes, attended a game and did a jersey swap with breakout rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice and even predicted the immediate future during a Chiefs “Monday Night Football” game during a “ManningCast.”
Now, she could have one of the best days of her life on Sunday, possibly breaking the scoring record before watching her favorite team compete for a Super Bowl.
