Now that the Paris Olympics have concluded, the WNBA prepares to kick off the second half of their season and head into the home stretch.
Prior to the first games on Thursday, Aug. 15, ESPN released its list of the “Top 25 WNBA Players at Midseason” which, unsurprisingly, sparked outrage among fans and impassioned debate on social media.
A’ja Wilson was the undisputed choice as the No. 1 player in the WNBA, also called the “W.” Wilson currently leads the W in points per game [27.2], rebounds [12.o] and blocked shots [2.9]. She just won the MVP of the gold medal game in the Paris Olympics last week and is the presumptive front-runner to win her third regular season MVP in the W.
There was also no objection to last year’s MVP winner Breanna Stewart being listed at No. 2. Both “Stewie” and Wilson were seen as the catalysts who helped Team USA win a last-second thriller over France in Paris.
The ESPN list enraged scores of Caitlin Clark fans
However, many zealous Caitlin Clark fans vehemently objected to ESPN listing the rookie sensation at No. 15, taking the mid-tier ranking as an insult and demanding answers.
“Ngl Caitlin is already top 5. She’s an offensive engine, assist machine,” wrote one fan on X, while another user disagreed, sharing, “These CC [Caitlin Clark] fans might be worse than Bron [James] fans 🥴.”
While an admirer of Clark said the “disrespect is sickening,” another writer said Clark has not earned the right to be listed in the top 5.
“Just bc you just started watching women’s basketball and only watch 1 team that doesn’t mean CC is number 1 or even top 10, this list is extremely fair. Popularity does not equal the best,” the fan said.
WNBA star Chennedy Carter hates the ESPN list
The Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter also took great umbrage as the former first-round draft pick and one of the most dynamic players in the league was placed 24th. She is averaging 17.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 51.8 percent from the field, which is among the best in the league.
Carter shared her thoughts with her 100K Instagram followers, pointing out that her accomplishments were achieved in only 25.1 minutes per game, significantly fewer than her counterparts:
The list includes multiple players for the first time, most particularly the leading candidates for Rookie of the Year, former college sensations Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. The rivals became the first two rookies to make the WNBA All-Star team since 2014. The other new names on the list include Dearica Hamby of the L.A. Sparks, Kayla McBride of the Minnesota Links, and Carter.
