Caitlin Clark must have seen her 10th place ranking on ESPN’s Top 50 WNBA Players For 2026 list because on Thursday in an exhibition game against Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings, Clark came out the gate shooting and dishing like a Top 3 Player in the game. She finished the first half with 14 points, showing that she is getting into top form just as the season jumps off on May 8.
Paige Bueckers Outplays Caitlin Clark In Preseason Game
Bueckers was on her game too, dropping in an unassuming eight points in that first quarter before exploding to help Dallas pull away and win 95-80. The Wings went on a 15-2 run from the first into the second quarter and led by as many as 23.
Bueckers finished with a highly impactful 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field in 20 minutes of play to lead Dallas. Azzi Fudd had four in her league debut.\
Fans Say Alanna Smith Tried To Injure Clark
Caitlin Clark had 21 points of 4-of-16 shooting in 16 minutes. She went to the free throw line 13 times and converted 11. Clark briefly exited the game after she landed on defender Alanna Smith’s foot and hit her kneecap, leading to a Flagrant 1 for Smith.
Of course, her fans yelled bloody murder, claiming this was another example of jealous players trying to hurt Clark.
“I dont blame Alanna Smith for being reckless on Caitlin Clark, the Wnba refs have let them tee off on CC for 2 years (Carter, Mabrey, Sheldon). That’s what Smith is used too,” one fan said,
“The vast majority of the Women’s NBA league—typically estimated at over 80%—identifies as players of color. It is a racist league that attempts to injure white players who are at an elite level like Caitlin Clark. Recently she was injured again in an altercation with opposing players,” another fan boldly commented,
The game came at the perfect time, as the ESPN Top 50 WNBA players was released this week and Caitlin Clark fans were up in arms that she was 10th, two spots behind Bueckers.
‘Who Made This List, Sheryl Swoopes?’: Fans Big Mad About ESPN Top 50 List
The golden child of the league and the woman whose fanbase feels she’s solely responsible for the tremendous increase in WNBA salaries this season, was 10th on the list.
Following an explosive rookie season that saw her sitting in the top 3 of most best player lists, Clark appeared in just 13 games last season while battling lower body injuries. She probably would have finished much higher on this list if she didn’t get sidetracked by a truncated season, while her short-handed Indiana Fever rode the back of Kelsey Mitchell to the WNBA semifinals before losing to the Las Vegas Aces.
Fans Debate Caitlin Clark’s 10th Place Finish In ESPN Top 50 WNBA Players
Even those who agreed with the list didn’t care because CC is still the No. 1 attraction.
“That is fair, but she is the number one attraction for the WNBA. And if I am running a business, and she is selling the tickets, that is ALL THAT MATTERS. !,” one fan said.
“Hilarious. She carries the entire league’s revenue stream; No wonder Disney loses its shareholders money,” another commented on X.
“Name 5 players better than her…I’ll wait,” one angry fan quipped.
“Take off the 0 and it’ll be accurate. Fking clowns,” another fan insisted.
“Who made this list, Sheryl Swoopes. Old head needs to go check into a nursing home,” a fourth disgruntled Caitlin Clark fan commented.
Fans Were Hot With ESPN For Ranking CC So Low
The fans took shots at Angel Reese, jealous Black and gay women and “woke” ESPN for pushing what they perceive as an anti-Clark narrative.
“ESPN is incredibly anti white since Disney bought it. I don’t watch WNBA I like to watch Caitlin Clark. I get tired of ESPN‘s anti-white rhetoric. Other words don’t give the white players credit when they deserve it,” one netizen tweeted on X.
Another fan who is quite unhappy with Clark’s ranking on ESPN’s Top 50 WNBA players list for 2026 said:
“Woke ass espn disrespects Caitlin but they want to use her name and the Fever name to put games on People need to start canceling their espn subscriptions if they have them thats the only way they might stop this ignorant woke biased garbage those that voted need called out
“Genuinely never taking ESPN seriously ever again after this,” one fan promised.
“there aren’t 9 players better then CC lol,” another said.
“Paige Bueckers, Jackie Young, Sabrina Ionescu, Alisha Gray even Alyssa Thomas are not above CC. What is this harebrained nonsense?” one fan tweeted.
Is Caitlin Clark’s Ranking Of No. 10 Too Low?
Some fans were flabbergasted. Clark was listed two slots after 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers. Others couldn’t believe she was just 12 slots ahead of Reese, who came in at No. 22.
“What has Paige done to be ahead of her at #8?,” one fan asked.
“If she were a gay black she would be number 2,” a fan replied.
This list should be some great ammunition for Clark, whose preseason start was sluggish as she shot 2-of-10 from the floor and just 1-of-5 from three in her first game. It’s definitely too early to be alarmed but her entire game is judged off her “supposedly” prolific shooting, so she’s got to get those numbers up. Regardless of how many fans she has, Clark has to produce on the court to get the total respect of real basketball heads and the ESPN list, while structured to ensure engagement – some might even call it rage bait – is not elevating her ranking.
Should Clark Be Ranked Higher Than Teammate Kelsey Mitchell
At least Clark is ranked over her teammate Kelsey Mitchell, who came in at 11. But some fans had beef with that too.
“The Kelsey Mitchell disrespect is crazy,” one fan captioned above a post of Mitchell’s heroic’s from last season. How is Km the 11th best player in the w when she was the best guard in the league last season and made the semi finals? You can’t make this shit up,” said a fan who is very unhappy with Mitchell’s position on the list.
Placing Clark over Mitchell is very debatable, as Mitchell averaged over 20 ppg last year and in Clark’s absence she ascended to superstar status and carried the undermanned Fever on a Cinderella run without Clark. Bueckers, however, might really be better. Right now.
The debates around Caitlin Clark continues.
