Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever looks on during a game against the New York Liberty on June 2, 2024, in New York City.
Luke Hales/Getty Images

CNN — 

Speaking at his customary press conference ahead of the opening of the NBA Finals on Thursday, league commissioner Adam Silver called the flagrant foul made by Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter on Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark last weekend a “Welcome to the league” moment, adding that it’s “nothing new in basketball.”

Carter’s off-ball foul against Clark on Saturday has drawn outcry from critics who argue that Carter appeared to go out of her way to throw her hip and shoulder into Clark, whose back was turned and who tumbled to the ground after the foul.

Silver addressed a wide gamut of topics including Clark’s rising star in the league, the future of the NBA and an impending media rights deal.

“Of course, I want to see Caitlin (Clark) treated fairly and appropriately in the league,” Silver told reporters. “I would say it seems like she can take care of herself. She’s a tough player.”

Following the Saturday foul, Clark told reporters she was doing her best not to let it get to her.

“I think at this point I know I’m going to take a couple of hard shots a game and that’s what it is. I’m trying not to let it bother me and just stay in the game and stay in what’s important because usually it’s the second person that gets caught if you retaliate.”

Silver called the passionate interest in Clark, as well as her rivalry with star Chicago Sky player Angel Reese, “very healthy” for women’s basketball and the league.

“It’s generating tremendous additional interest,” Silver said. “In fairness to the other players and in fairness to Commissioner (Cathy) Engelbert, this didn’t just start this year,” he said, noting that while the WNBA has seen several star players in recent years, Clark has accelerated interest in the league.

“If you went back and looked at our original business plan from 28 years ago, we didn’t think it would be such a long timeline to break into the popularity we’re seeing now. Ultimately, I don’t want to make too big of an issue about one particular player, one particular call. But I think the burgeoning rivalries within professional basketball, you see rivalries obviously among clubs but also among individual players, too, and I think that can be ultimately good for the sport,” the commissioner continued.

Earlier this week, ESPN host Pat McAfee apologized for calling Clark a “White b*tch” during a segment over whether race has played a factor in the WNBA rookie’s meteoric rise.

Silver said he “accepted” McAfee’s apology and called it a “misstep.”