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Caitlin Clark's appalling disrespect by WNBA players gets blasted

The basketball world was stunned by the audaciously low ranking of the most transformative superstar in the WNBA.
Matthew Graham|
Grace Smith/INDIANAPOLIS STAR-Imagn Images

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Indiana Fever

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.

RELATED: Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham rock nearly identical fits for Fever vs. Storm game

Caitlin Clark
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.

RELATED: Caitlin Clark-effect sees WNBA franchise valuations skyrocket staggering amount

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.

Sophie Cunningham
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

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Matthew Graham
MATTHEW GRAHAM

Matthew Graham has over 20 years of media experience and oversees The Athlete Lifestyle On SI. He has had previous leadership roles at NBC Sports, Yahoo, and USA TODAY, where he co-founded For The Win (named Best Mobile Site by Digiday). He has also written for ESPN, Cosmopolitan, US Weekly, People, E! Online, and FHM, covering major sports and entertainment events like the Oscars, the Golden Globes, NBA Finals, Super Bowl, and winning the Yahoo Superstar Award for coverage of the Olympics.

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