Women’s basketball icon Nancy Lieberman experienced a similar type of jealousy as that faced by Fever standout Caitlin Clark.

The sustained excellence of Indiana Fever’s star rookie Caitlin Clark in recent months has elicited a mix of admiration and intense jealousy within WNBA circles.

While some recognize that Clark’s impact has brought about benefits such as chartered flights and boosted ticket sales, others, including former WNBA players like Sheryl Swoopes, have not concealed their envy over the attention Clark has garnered since joining the league, often attempting to diminish her achievements.

One individual familiar with the challenges that Clark is facing is the legendary women’s basketball figure Nancy Lieberman. She recently appeared on The Knuckleheads Podcast to recount an incident of jealousy she faced during her time at Old Dominion University.

“3 of my 4 years they scheduled us playing up in New York and going into the Garden my first time we were playing Queens College,” said Lieberman.

“It’s so stupid right, like one of the girls on Queens College, she goes, ‘ah she’s overrated, and she doesn’t deserve all this attention.’ Kind of like what’s happening to Caitlin Clark. So we go in the Garden, we’re playing in front of about 13-14,000 people. I was so mad at this girl, I had like 33 points, 15 rebounds, 14 assists, and nine steals.”

Lieberman later mentioned that the two reconciled following the game.

“So we go to the press conference and I said, ‘well you know I’m so happy we won’t blah, blah, blah and I hope you guys didn’t think I was overrated,’ and the girl came into the press conference and apologized,” said Lieberman.

It seems unlikely that figures like Sheryl Swoopes and other WNBA personalities who have expressed harsh criticism towards Clark will be offering apologies in the near future.

As Clark continues to prove herself as not just the standout rookie but also one of the top players in the league, some ex-players and media members have portrayed the competition as a close race between Clark and her former college adversary, Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky. Despite Reese’s notable rookie season, Clark’s impact on the game remains significantly greater.

Nonetheless, Clark and the Fever are set to face the Los Angeles Sparks on Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. ET.