Caitlin Clark Shows Up to Cold Shoulder: WNBA players’ alleged snub of the rookie phenom has sparked outrage, with fans and pundits blasting the disrespect loud and clear. Was it jealousy or old guard power play? One thing’s certain: this chilly treatment has become the hottest debate in the league. Will Clark’s response rewrite the locker room rules?

July 2, 2025 - by bunhak168 - Leave a Comment

The player that could be worth nearly a billion dollars to the WNBA is apparently only the ninth best guard.

In a laughable show of disrespect to Caitlin Clark, the most transformational player of the next generation across both the W and NBA, the Indiana Fever cultural icon being compared to Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods by a former ESPN executive to The Athletic still can’t get the respect of most of her peers.

Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While earning a record number of votes from fans that obliterated the previous mark, somehow the reigning Rookie of the Year landed ninth in player voting behind her own teammate Kelsey Mitchell (sixth) and Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers (fourth). The Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray was ranked No. 1 by media and players.

To put in perspective, the nearly 1.3 million votes the former Iowa Hawkeyes phenom was more than the entire votes received for all 30 players in 2023 before she was drafted by the Fever No. 1 overall in 2024, which was 1.17 million combined.

Needles to say NBA twitter couldn’t believe the appalling disrespect.

Kelsey Plum, who has kept the Los Angeles Sparks afloat this season, was not happy when a fan was wearing a Clark T-shirt courtside yesterday for a game that didn’t even feature the Fever.

“You can’t be doing that in the gym,” Plum told the fan with 50% sarcasm. “Do better.” (To be fair, players also disrespected the former WNBA champion too, ranking her 16th.)

Every WNBA player can thank Clark when the new collective bargaining agreement is signed. Each of them will get an enormous pay raise thanks to of course their hard work, the ridiculously low current salaries, but also the popularity of Clark, much like when any new contract is negotiated for a sport with a transformative figure appealing to the casual fans.

At least Bueckers, a huge star at UConn, but still not in the Clark stratosphere, understands her impact. Unlike, oh the Connecticut Sun’s Jacy Sheldon and Marina Mabrey.

Unfortunately, jealousy still reigns supreme.