The dynamic between Sheryl Swoopes and Caitlin Clark is one of the strangest stories in sports this season.

For some reason, it’s obvious that the WNBA legend isn’t the biggest fan of the new basketball sensation. When Clark and the Indiana Fever visited the Dallas Wings on Sunday, all eyes were on what Swoopes would say, since she works as an analyst in Dallas.

But WNBA fans didn’t get that chance because Swoopes wasn’t in the commentary booth. Instead, basketball legend Nancy Lieberman commentated the game along with Ron Thulin.

A storm of indignation immediately broke out on the Internet, claiming that Swoopes had been “replaced” or “dismissed” as part of a “restructuring of the broadcasting operations.”

While that certainly makes for exotic headlines, the truth is that Swoopes, Lieberman and former WNBA champion Fran Harris were announced as analysts for the Wings back in April before the season began and have taken turns throughout the season. In fact, Harris commentated on the Wings’ game against the Lynx just two days earlier on Friday without much fanfare.

Furthermore, all of this hyperbole surrounding the Wings’ Sunday broadcast schedule ignores the fact that Swoopes has already called a Clark game earlier this season, a preseason game in May where she even interviewed her after the game! (Hence the screenshot above.) This comes after Swoopes had already caused controversy in February when she criticized Clark’s points record at Iowa, first emerging as one of her most vocal critics.

But after they sat down for an interview in May, the story wasn’t over. Quite the opposite. Over the course of the WNBA season, Sheryl Swoopes was criticized by the likes of Elle Duncan and Stephen A. Smith for her continued insults toward Caitlin Clark. (Though Duncan later apologized for taking Swoopes out of context.) She downplayed the harsh fouls Clark received. And just last week, another clip went viral showing the Wings showing the WNBA players of the week, including Clark, and Swoopes went into a conspicuous silence for an extended period.

So what really happened here and why wasn’t Swoopes in the locker room on Sunday?

With three analysts on board, it was unlikely that Swoopes would even be commentating on the game. Lieberman commentated on games on June 3 against the Aces and July 5 against the Mercury. Most likely, it was simply her time in the rotation and it happened to fall on a date when the Fever came to town. Those schedules could have even been decided before the season started, and if Swoopes hadn’t been constantly criticizing Clark, this would be a complete non-story.

Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that it was probably best for everyone involved that Swoopes didn’t commentate on the Fever game, thus avoiding what could have been a very awkward dynamic, especially given that the game was being broadcast nationally on NBATV to a large audience.

Had Swoopes served as an analyst, every word and syllable would have been scrutinized and analyzed, and people would have looked for a reason to get upset or make a story out of it, whether they were fans of Caitlin Clark, Sheryl Swoopes or both. It would have overshadowed everything that happened on the court, where the Fever continued their winning streak with a 100-93 victory thanks to 36 points from Kelsey Mitchell and 28 points from Clark.

The Wings and Fever are scheduled to face off again in Indiana on Sept. 15. The game will be broadcast locally in Dallas on Bally Sports Southwest. If Swoopes isn’t commentating on that game either, perhaps it’s a more appropriate time to wonder if that’s a coincidence, too.