Sophie Cunningham Has Caitlin Clark Beat in WNBA 'Gravity' Stat
When it comes to having gravity in the WNBA, it's hard to imagine that anybody can compete with Caitlin Clark.
Gravity is, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, "the force that attracts objects toward one another". In the case of Caitlin Clark, the "objects" within that definition could be considered fans and the sport of women's basketball (or the WNBA).
The 24-year-old Indiana Fever star guard draws an unprecedented amount of attention, both on and off the basketball court. She's the league's biggest star and is currently performing at an MVP-caliber level.
However, this doesn't seem to be the sort of gravity that the WNBA is quantifying, given a recent AI-generated metric that's drawing attention on social media.
On May 26, the @WNBA X account made a post that was captioned, "Gravity is HERE 🗣️ The W’s first Inside the Game stat, powered by @awscloud, measures the players who shift defenses and change the game with every touch. Follow along all season as we track the top 5 leaders and how they impact every possession."
The WNBA's website adds the context, "Gravity quantifies how much a player pulls defenders towards them above expected, essentially measuring how much attention they draw compared to what the spacing on the floor predicts." And the original X post's accompanying graphic noted the league's top five players in this new metric: Sonia Citron, Marina Mabrey, Kayla McBride, Rhyne Howard, and Kahleah Copper.
Gravity is HERE 🗣️
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 26, 2026
The W’s first Inside the Game stat, powered by @awscloud, measures the players who shift defenses and change the game with every touch.
Follow along all season as we track the top 5 leaders and how they impact every possession. pic.twitter.com/Dp8aQW1prx
Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham Outpace Caitlin Clark in New 'Gravity' Stat
One big reason why this post has gotten over 120,000 views since it was posted is because of Caitlin Clark's absence in the top five.
Given that she has notoriously been face-guarded from full court at times, is constantly being touched and grabbed by her defenders, and otherwise forcing defenders to shift strategies to account for her, it's easy to see why most thought Clark would score highly in this new metric.
However, not only is Clark not in the top five in Gravity in the WNBA, but she's not even the top two on her own team.
Clark currently has a Gravity score of 3.9, which is tied for 19th in the league. Her teammate, Kelsey Mitchell, has a 5.9 Gravity score, which is ninth in the league. And Sophie Cunningham sits at No. 16 in the league, with a 4.8 Gravity score.
This is cool for Cunningham and Mitchell. But even they would likely agree that if the Gravity stat was more accurate to what "gravity" really means, Clark should probably be higher.
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Grant Young covers women’s basketball for Women’s Fastbreak and Indiana Fever On SI. His coverage centers on league trends and the growth of women’s basketball, both on and off the court. He also creates digital content focused on the sport’s biggest moments and personalities.
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