Caitlin Clark's 45-point, 10-assist performance has sparked a heated debate over who is the "face" of the WNBA, with some declaring her the league's biggest draw.
Clark's on-court exploits are well-known, producing score lines that would look out of place in a video game. She was college basketball's greatest-ever folk star at Iowa, and her penchant for three-point shooting, no-look dimes, and swaggering bravado made her a favorite among fans and media corporations.
Clark has lived up to those claims, shattering league records in her maiden year in the league and becoming a three-time All-Star. Her gifts as a playmaker rival the sport's greatest-ever passers, and although her shot selection hasn't been quite as steady, Clark remains one of the sport's most dazzling talents at her position.
Clark's popularity is informed by a confluence of factors, some of which she can control, others that she cannot. She is one of the sport's grandest talents on merit, but her position as women's basketball "face" relies upon the assumption that corporations and the market push the needle.
Some have even suggested that Clark should be credited with bringing about surges in player salary, but that's a fanciful suggestion that renders the role the player's union played in forcing the league to the negotiating table invisible.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pushed back on the suggestion that Clark was the league's biggest draw, citing the league's workforce is primarily Black, while many of her peers are not. Abdul-Jabbar lamented a letter several GOP lawmakers penned calling for the league to take accountability for recent "attacks" on Clark.
Abdul-Jabbar wrote on his Substack, "My first reaction to this letter was to check the calendar and make sure it wasn’t April Fools’ Day. Eleven members of Congress wrote a letter calling Caitlin Clark 'the face of your league.' At least they got the marketing department’s talking point right."
A'ja Wilson, who has won three titles and four MVP awards in her first seven years in the WNBA, was mentioned by Abdul-Jabbar as one of the great players who deserves consideration as the league's face.
Angel Reese's case for the title of WNBA's most prominent star is a bit hazier, with some arguing that her on-court prowess and her status as one of the greatest rebounders in basketball history make her a strong contender.
Reese has already established herself as one of the greatest rebounders in basketball history across her three-year career, but her on-court performance is not the only factor at play in the debate over who is the WNBA's face.
The debate over who is the WNBA's face continues to rage on, with Clark, Reese, and Wilson all vying for the top spot. The latest development in the debate comes from Robert Griffin III, who tweeted about Clark's recent performance, calling her the face of the WNBA.
Griffin tweeted, "She just had a 45-point 10-assists double-double with 4 steals, 2 blocks and 2 rebounds. Shot 11/18 from the field and 6/10 from 3 point range in 29 minutes with a +16 +/-. Other players have scored more points this year and in years…"
Source: Yahoo Sports