NBA Champion Calls Out Caitlin Clark WNBA Peer 'Jealousy' With JEEP Acronym

A two-time NBA champion coined a fitting acronym for how Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has been treated in her WNBA career.

Sep 13, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts to a call Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | Grace Smith/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

One of the more constant narratives throughout Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark's rookie season in the WNBA was whether she was getting treated excessively harshly by her peers in professional basketball.

Many women's basketball fans and pundits believed that Clark was subject to overly physical treatment by peers during games (which the stats would back up). And to explain this, it has been asserted that this was owed to Clark's popularity, which has led to jealousy and envy from league veterans who don't have nearly the same spotlight as the 23-year-old former Iowa Hawkeyes icon.

Another person who thinks the same is two-time NBA champion Mychal Thompson, who is also the father of basketball legend Klay Thompson. During a recent interview with OutKick, Thompson (who is a massive Clark fan) revealed his fitting acronym he coined to call out these peers.

"They don't like Caitlin Clark," Thompson said of other WNBA players, per an X post from @drafts95452567. "I've been following her career since she was a sophomore at Iowa, and I recognized how different she was, how different she played the game. She played the game like Steph Curry."

He later added, "Now that she's in the WNBA, I'll tell you, she needs a Jeep endorsement, a commercial. Because JEEP is an acronym that I've come up with of the way she has been treated and not welcomed into the WNBA.

"JEEP, the acronym is J.E.E.P., and that stands for 'Jealousy, Envy, Egos, and Pettiness,'" Thompson continued.

yeah klay's dad might be caitlin's no. 1 fan lol. he told his colleagues who never watched the w about her. also came up with an acronym for the way the league treated her 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/We9BpzUbTj

— drafts (@drafts95452567) April 3, 2025

Hopefully, Clark's WNBA peers will overcome this sentiment (if it's truly what they're feeling) so that Thompson's JEEP acronym can be left in 2024.