Wayne Gretzky admires Caitlin Clark’s influence on women’s sports’ growth: ‘She’s taken over the country’

Since Caitlin Clark set foot on a WNBA court, she has transcended women’s basketball, and even legends from other sports have taken notice. NHL icon Wayne Gretzky is certainly a fan of Clark and what she’s done for women’s sports in general.

On the latest episode of the “New Heights” podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce, Gretzky touched on Alex Ovechkin breaking his all-time goals record. For so many years, most thought Gretzky’s record to be unbreakable, but Ovechkin pulled off the feat in April.

“That’s what makes sports so wonderful,” Gretzky said. “When you think, ‘Man, can we get any better?’ Then, another guy comes along, and you think, ‘That guy is phenomenal.’”

Gretzky used Clark as an example of how new generations of athletes can break barriers and make people reconsider what might be possible in their respective sports.

“Look at Caitlin Clark, just how she’s taken over the country, for that matter maybe even the world,” Gretzky said. “How she’s encouraged so many young girls now to participate in sports, whether it’s basketball, soccer or volleyball.”

Gretzky certainly knows a thing or two about changing the landscape of a sport. Throughout his career, Gretzky toppled Gordie Howe’s goals record and still sits atop the NHL in numerous categories, including career points with 2,857.

In just 44 career games, Clark has already rewritten the WNBA record books on multiple occasions. Most recently, Clark tied Courtney Vandersloot for the most career games with at least 20 points and 10 assists with 10.

Unfortunately for the Indiana Fever and WNBA fans, Clark will be on the shelf for a while as she nurses a left quad strain, and she’s expected to miss at least four games.