A'ja Wilson Claims Caitlin Clark Hype 'Erased' WNBA History
Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark was named the Time Athlete of the Year for 2024. In an article released in tandem with this announcement, Clark addressed the privilege she believes is present in her life because of her race.
"I want to say I’ve earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege. A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been Black players. This league has kind of been built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that... I think it’s very important. I have to continue to try to change that. The more we can elevate Black women, that’s going to be a beautiful thing," Clark said.
Many felt like this was a way for Clark to address a narrative throughout her rookie 2024 WNBA season that she was responsible for the league's boom in popularity. This narrative could be construed as a diminishment of all the players that came before No. 22, many of whom were Black, who helped put the league in a position to capitalize on a generational superstar like Clark.
Las Vegas Aces star forward A'ja Wilson seemed to appreciate Clark's sentiment, as she was quoted in a Time interview from back in February as saying of Clark's comments, "It's powerful to me. As a Black woman in the WNBA, we have our struggles in showcasing who we really are. A lot of agendas get pushed on a lot of different platforms that may shadow us. You work so hard, but you still have to work 10 times harder just to be seen. So when we can have our counterparts speak up, it speaks volumes to me, because they're in spaces where my path is never supposed to go.
"It's crazy that we're talking about that in 2025, but it's real. We see those things as Black women. We see where people stand up and speak for us," Wilson added.
A'ja Wilson Speaks on Caitlin Clark Narrative
It appears that Wilson's sentiment regarding the aforementioned narrative about Clark might have shifted. Wilson was named the Time 2025 Athlete of the Year, and when this narrative was brought up on her ensuing feature story that was released on December 9, Wilson said, “It wasn’t a hit at me, because I’m going to do me regardless. I’m going to win this MVP, I’ll win a gold medal, y’all can’t shake my résumé.
"It was more so, let’s not lose the recipe. Let’s not lose the history. It was erased for a minute. And I don’t like that. Because we have tons of women that have been through the grimiest of grimy things to get the league where it is today," she added.
Well I’m sure this will have people talking https://t.co/db9Vyxq0qy pic.twitter.com/gMCFpmo0nD
— Vanshay Murdock 🎥🎥 (@VanshayM) December 9, 2025
Wilson's assertion that the hype surrounding Clark's rookie campaign "erased" league history is sure to raise some eyebrows.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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