Tag: Nancy Lieberman

How Nancy Lieberman reignited the Caitlin Clark-Sheryl Swoopes drama

The Caitlin Clark-Sheryl Swoopes saga now includes Nancy Lieberman. Here’s what we know.

The Sheryl Swoopes and Caitlin Clark controversy had seemingly died down in recent months, only to come roaring back. Now, there’s a new party involved: Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman.

To refresh your memory, Swoopes has been taking heat since 2023 over her thoughts regarding Clark breaking her NCAA single tournament scoring record. It didn’t get any better in 2024 when Swoopes made inaccurate comments on a Gilbert Arenas podcast regarding Clark’s pursuit of Kelsey Plum’s NCAA scoring record.

Things got so out of hand over several weeks that fans made “Don’t Be A Sheryl” (and “Be a Sheryl”) shirts, voicing their opinions on the matter. Days later, Swoopes revealed that she apologized to Clark and said Clark’s decision to go to the WNBA was good for basketball.

That was seemingly the end of it, and despite the awkwardness of Swoopes interviewing Clark during a Dallas Wings preseason game, the two were amicable, and that was that — until it wasn’t. Swoopes’ recent comments about Clark and the Indiana Fever have ruffled feathers with fans, turning the whole saga back on.

Here’s everything we know about the Sheryl Swoopes-Caitlin Clark-Nancy Lieberman drama:

Hoops fans become enraged over a perceived Caitlin Clark slight by Sheryl Swoopes

(Annie Rice/USA TODAY Network)

During an August episode of Swoopes’s podcast, Swoopes and her co-host Jordan Robinson discussed how the Olympic break helped the Fever. As the conversation continued, Swoopes did not mention Clark in the list of players she named as reasons why the Fever were playing so well.

That enraged Fever and Clark fans — who were already miffed over Swoopes’s comments during another podcast episode in July. (On the episode, Swoopes made the claim that the Fever would be in the playoffs without Clark because of the stars they have on the roster. But, according to Robinson, many missed the full context of the conversation and the moment Swoopes went on to praise Clark.)

Swoopes’ perceived lack of acknowledgment got the attention of Stephen A. Smith, who traded jabs with Swoopes over her assessment.

https://twitter.com/airswoopes22/status/1827086141868355667?s=46&t=s5N-JgxcI5k9IbFhklucXA

Sheryl Swoopes’ lack of recognition for Caitlin Clark during a broadcast fans flames

(Image courtesy of NBA TV)

Things got worse when fans noticed that Swoopes did not say anything about Clark during an Aces-Wings broadcast when she and Napheesa Collier were recognized as Players of the Week. (It’s worth noting that Collier was also not recognized by Swoopes.)

Chatter immediately began gaining traction in hoops circles. Days later, when the Wings played the Fever, Swoopes was not on the broadcast team and was replaced by her colleague, Nancy Lieberman.

Nancy Lieberman pays tribute to Caitlin Clark and what she has done for the WNBA

(Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports)

Lieberman was on the call as the Fever and Wings played a back-and-forth thriller on September 1. During the game, Lieberman took a moment to share her thoughts about critics of Clark. Here’s what she said:

“When I walked in before the game, there were hundreds of fans lined up. What Caitlin Clark has done for the game is generational, and as a baller to a baller, I just want to say thank you to you … for lifting our game up, you and so many great players.”

“You are going to make all these women multi-millionaires one day — like Tiger did, like Michael Jordan did. We shouldn’t hate on her. We should celebrate her, not tolerate her.”

Lieberman was lauded for praising Clark, but many fans wondered why Swoopes wasn’t there. Swoopes shared that she wasn’t supposed to be.

Sheryl Swoopes reveals the apology message she sent to Caitlin Clark

Despite saying in February that she wouldn’t share what she said to Clark when she apologized, Swoopes reversed course and shared screenshots from their conversation.

It’s unclear why Swoopes revealed the messages. Still, it’s worth noting that Swoopes posted the messages, calling attention to “nice” fans after she received numerous NSFW messages and mentions on social media over Clark.

https://twitter.com/airswoopes22/status/1830643688898204023?s=46&t=s5N-JgxcI5k9IbFhklucXA

Nancy Lieberman continues the Caitlin Clark-Sheryl Swoopes discourse with Stephen A. Smith

(Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Fanatics)

The drama between Lieberman and Swoopes continues to boil over and has now circled back to Smith, who had already had beef with Swoopes. Smith invited Lieberman on his podcast to share comments about Clark, Swoopes and other WNBA topics.

Of course, the Clark-Swoopes drama was front and center as Lieberman revealed that she and Swoopes have been at odds after a phone call earlier this year regarding Clark. Lieberman says that during that call, she told Swoopes she could have an opinion on Clark, but “you do have to get the statistics right — I mean, facts matter.”

Lieberman claims that Swoopes was upset with her for suggesting that she apologize and admit she made a mistake. Upon reflection, Lieberman told Smith, “My life’s going to be good or great with or without Sheryl Swoopes in my life — I’d rather have her in it…”

Swoopes claims that Lieberman’s version of events isn’t what happened and that she, too, would be fine without Lieberman.

https://twitter.com/airswoopes22/status/1830756637948203257

Swoopes later accused Smith of not talking about Lieberman’s previous comments suggesting that if she were Clark, she would have punched Chennedy Carter in the face over her hip-check foul.

However, it was discussed on the podcast, and Lieberman explained that she had a conversation with Chicago Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon about it. This is what she shared with Smith:

“I said Spoon, ‘I didn’t say she should punch Chennedy Carter in her face. I said this is what I would do if I were blindsided…’ But my comment about hitting her wasn’t about her. But we had this conversation, which we apparently cannot have with me and Sheryl Swoopes.”

“And I still think she was incorrect about what she did, and you know, we all have to be professional…but just do your job. Do your job. You get paid to do your job as a broadcaster. Do your job.”

“Nobody said you have to be in love with anybody else, but if you’re gonna do an Indiana-Wings game, you’re gonna have to talk about Caitlin Clark and her great teammates and what they’re doing…”

Sheryl Swoopes refutes Nancy Lieberman’s version of their fallout

(Diannie Chavez/USA TODAY Network)

On September 3, Swoopes joined a space on X (formerly Twitter) and answered several questions from fans, where she revealed that she wasn’t scheduled to say anything during the Clark-Collier Player of the Week segment — that was solely for play-by-play announcer Ron Thulin.

Moreover, Swoopes says the call that Lieberman claims the pair had earlier this year never happened. Here’s what Swoopes shared with listeners:

“What I do know didn’t happen was a phone call from her.”

“Nancy Lieberman decided she was going to be upset that I said it was going to be an adjustment period for Caitlin, Angel — all the rookies — but in particular Caitlin, and that I didn’t think she would come in the league and dominate right away. It’s my opinion. So, she got upset that I said that. So, she decided she was going to go to Twitter…and try to call me out…”

“Don’t say you called me to talk about that when you didn’t. You posted that on Twitter and then I responded to you. I text you and said, ‘Nancy if you have something to say, call me, since we’re supposed to be, quote, friends.'”

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Curry took his adoration a step further …

Curry took his adoration a step further when he told Hamilton he was not only up for an interview, but wanted to get more involved. That’s how basketball’s greatest jump shooter became an executive producer. Both players are interviewed in the film, along with a lineup of basketball legends — from Dirk Nowitzki to Bob Knight, Nancy Lieberman and Clark Kellogg. Their astonishment at Sailors’ pioneering shot, particularly a photograph that appeared in Life magazine in 1946, will resonate with basketball fans.

A Q&A with Jacob Hamilton, the director of “JUMP SHOT” movie

Jacob Hamilton is the director of new documentary “JUMP SHOT,” which will be digitally released April 16-18.

In today’s NBA, the jump shot is an important part of most offensive arsenals, with players like Golden State Warriors stars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson being masters at knocking down jumpers from deep.

As arguably the best shooter ever, Curry is an executive producer on “JUMP SHOT,” a documentary film that showcases Kenny Sailors, the pioneer of the jump shot. Sailors won an NCAA championship in 1943 with the Wyoming Cowboys.

He played three seasons in the old Basketball Association of America, which merged with the National Basketball League in 1949 to form the NBA. Sailors played two seasons in the NBA. He passed away in 2016. He was 95.

Warriors Wire recently chatted with Jacob Hamilton, the film’s director. The movie marks his debut for a feature-length film, and it’s a project he’s worked on since 2011. Hamilton was the director on the short film of “Kenny Sailors Jump Shot,” which was released in 2012.

The movie was originally slated for a one-night release on April 2, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film will be released digitally from April 16-18 on JumpShotMovie.com.

The price of the film is $7.99, and once it is purchased, viewers can watch it for up to 48 hours.

Warriors Wire: When you directed the short, did the idea for the feature film come out of that? 

Jacob Hamilton: Yeah, so I came across Kenny’s story in 2011. And all that I originally heard was a two-minute audio interview that was done with Kenny. About the first time he jumped over and shot over his brother, and how he was benched in the NBA his first season, his rookie season there. And the whole ‘well, I don’t know if really I’m the guy that did it or not.’ His humility kind of showed through that. And that really piqued my interest in this story. I was like ‘well, I love sports. I grew up playing sports.’ And I always love a great origin story. I came across this audio interview and was just blown away that somebody invented the jump shot. I always thought that it existed, just like pretty much everybody else, especially today. And then, when I started doing a little bit more research on Kenny who he is as a person and individual, I was like ‘Gosh, this guy’s incredible.’ He lived an amazing life, and it just felt like there was more there than just a short film.

WW: With Kenny, you mentioned how most of the interview you have in the feature film is from the short. Was there anything else different about the short compared to the feature film?

Jacob Hamilton: The short was more focused on just Kenny telling his own story. We didn’t have the ability to go out and start including other voices into that film, nor did we have the time to be able to do that or the resources. And so when the feature started moving forward, that’s when we were like, ‘OK, we don’t want Kenny talking about his (endeavors) — he’s the only voice throughout it.’ We need some people to add a little bit of clout or clarity on some things because he’s also one of those that’s not gonna toot his horn I guess you could say.

WW: What was it like working with Steph Curry on this film? Especially considering he’s arguably the best shooter ever, how did he make his imprint on this film? 

Jacob Hamilton: So when we started dreaming up, ‘OK, who are some of the voices that we want to have in this film?’ You start looking at ‘Well, who are some of the greatest shooters of all time?’ And how can we get access to them? And obviously Steph is on that list. It’s one of those things you never in your wildest dreams think that you’ll ever get the opportunity to even present the idea of the film to him. But when we finally did get a connection to him, we reached out to him to just participate in the film and sit down with us for an interview. And with a lot of these guys their time’s valuable, and they only want to pick and choose the projects that they’re going to be a part of that they really do believe in. And so we sent him an early version of the film that was a screener. When they got back to us, when he and Unanimous (Media) got back to us, they were like this is awesome. They were like, ‘Yeah, Steph is 100 percent in to be an interview, but is there opportunity for him to be more involved?’ Another thing we weren’t expecting to hear. But we obviously were very excited to engage in those types of conversations with him. And that led to him being an executive producer on the film.

WW: What did Steph’s job as an executive producer consist of?

Jacob Hamilton: Steph’s job as an executive producer is to help spread the word about Kenny’s contribution to the game of basketball. Obviously he’s a name that people are familiar with. Nobody knows the name Kenny Sailors. And so one of the things that he feels that is of utmost importance for him and his ability or contribution to this story is to be that voice that people will listen to, to help carry Kenny’s legacy into something that people will know a little bit more.

Editor’s note: Hamilton also interviewed Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki and Nancy Lieberman for this documentary. 

WW: With interviewing Kevin Durant, Dirk, Nancy Lieberman, what was it like talking with them?

Jacob Hamilton: It was fun to get to engage with them, and who inspired them in their day. And honestly, depending on who you talk to, they’re going to have a different story. Guys like Bob Knight and Jud Heathcote, they go way back. And a lot of names that inspired them and who they admired and looked up to, and even tried to replicate what they were doing, it’s very different than guys like Steph and Dirk and KD. And what I think consistently across the board, I noticed is that each one of them there was a huge appreciation for those that came before them that helped lead the way to make the game what it is today. And obviously Kenny, arguably for each one of these, even though for some of them they might have seen Kenny play, and others they are just now learning about him because he played sixty, seventy years prior to them. The fact that he did what he did and helped popularize the modern day jump shot and bring it to professional basketball, they all had a great admiration and respect for him.

WW: How important is it for you to educate people on Kenny, and then also what did you learn about his life after basketball?

Jacob Hamilton: To me, Kenny lived a life that’s worth celebrating. I think that’s ultimately why this film has grown to what it is today. And a lot of that is because of what he did on the court, but in all honesty I think what catches people’s attention — it catches them off by surprise while watching the film — it’s really what he did off the court that is so inspirational. In a way, one could argue he defined the game of basketball by developing the primary offensive weapon of the game. But it never really defined who he was. And so when he retired from basketball, or what led to his retirement of basketball, was his love for family. His wife had kind of fallen ill and was sick. They needed to relocate their family basically for her health. And so once he was able to get his pension, he was like, ‘OK, we’re going to focus on that. And we’re going to do this as a family.’ And then when he moved away from the spotlight of basketball, it didn’t take very long for basketball to catch back up with him, because then all of a sudden he’s asked to be a coach in the middle of nowhere in Alaska for women’s basketball and plays a huge part in being a pioneer for women’s basketball up there in the public schools of Alaska. There was no state tournament at that time, only the private schools, and a lot of women, and specifically native women up there, didn’t have the opportunity to play. And so he brought the game to them. It’s stories like that where I think a lot of people come in expecting one thing from this film, and they’re pleasantly surprised that there’s a lot more to it. And I think those are always the most exciting documentaries to me. When I’m watching something expecting one thing, and then I walk away from it being like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know I needed to learn about this, but I’m so glad that I learned something new.’

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Nancy Lieberman says Lonzo Ball belongs in Most Improved Player race

As he continues to make strides on the court this season, could Lonzo Ball be making a case for Most Improved Player?

Lonzo Ball has taken a clear step forward this season. His large step forward in play since returning from his injury in December has been a huge reason why the Pelicans have found themselves back in the playoff race.

Despite his improved play, though, Ball has not been mentioned as a viable candidate for Most Improved Player this season. After Friday’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Nancy Lieberman took her chance on Fox Sports New Orleans’ postgame show to make the case for Ball as a Most Improved Player candidate.

“I have to tell you, if Lonzo Ball…is not up for Most Improved Player in the NBA this year, then apparently nobody has cable. This guy is unbelievable. They’re running pindowns and bringing him off pindowns so he can catch and shoot. It’s not just feet set now. He’s worked so hard at his craft.”

Ball is putting up career-best numbers across the board this season. He’s already played more games than he did his rookie season and is averaging 11.8 points, a career-high number. His 6.0 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game both are second-best in his career while his 36.7% three-point shooting is by far his best average.

The irony, though, is that while Ball’s improvement has been notable this season, it’s his teammate Brandon Ingram that figures to be one of the favorites for Most Improved Player this year. After struggling in Los Angeles for multiple seasons, Ingram has blossomed in New Orleans this year as an All-Star and is a large reason why the Pelicans remained afloat before Zion Williamson.

Ball will likely get some acknowledgment for his improvement this season and not winning the Most Improved Player award doesn’t mean his improvement hasn’t been great. He’s taken a step forward in his progression this year and Pelicans are better because of him.

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Steph Curry’s executive produced “JUMP SHOT” to release in April

Steph Curry is an executive producer on the upcoming documentary “JUMP SHOT.”

Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry is arguably the best shooter ever, and as a future Hall of Famer, he’s helping to educate basketball fans on the man who pioneered the jump shot that rules the modern game.

Curry is an executive producer on the documentary, “JUMP SHOT,” which will be released for one night only April 2 in more than 250 movie theaters across the country. The film is being released by Unanimous Media, a media company Curry co-founded.

The documentary tells the story of Kenny Sailors, a basketball player who was an innovator of the jump shot at the University of Wyoming. Sailors passed away in 2016. He was 95.

Sailors and the Cowboys won the NCAA Championship in 1943, but Sailors’ basketball life didn’t last too long after that.

A World War 2 veteran, he played three seasons in the old Basketball Association of America, which merged with the National Basketball League in 1949 to form the NBA. Sailors played two seasons in the NBA, but his story isn’t well known.

“The film not only explores his impact on the game, but his calling and all the different places that took him, whether it was serving in the military, or playing in the NBA, or being with his family,” Curry said, per a press release sent to Warriors Wire. “There’s so many people like myself that don’t know Kenny Sailors, and I’m proud to help share his story with the world.”

The documentary will feature interviews from Curry and Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, along with basketball legends such as Dirk Nowitzki, Nancy Lieberman and Clark Kellogg.

The movie made its premiere in 2019 at the SXSW Film Festival, and it also earned an award at the deadCENTER Film Festival.

Tickets are currently on sale for the one-night event, and they can be purchased at the movie’s website.

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