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Caitlin Clark. (Photo by AJ Mast) | NBAE via Getty Images
Will we ever get a fair assessment of Caitlin Clark?
From her first season in the national spotlight as an Iowa freshman, there were politics involved. Paige Bueckers won National Player of the Year off the hype surrounding her entering the season, while Clark averaged 6.6 more points, 1.3 more assists and one more rebound in a far more competitive conference. Yes, Bueckers was more efficient, but it’s hard to argue that Clark was given a fair shake.
Clark was firing away her deep 3s in that freshman season of 2020-21, yet somehow it wasn’t until later that all the hype shifted from Bueckers to her, and, when it did, it grossly ignored the rest of the players in the world, unfairly putting Clark on a pedestal as the greatest player of all time before she had even accomplished anything at the professional level.
Her rookie season in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever proved that she was not the best player in the world—not yet. Instead it was A’ja Wilson, who put forth a campaign for the ages en route to winning her third MVP. Clark finished fourth in voting for the award after averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 boards on 41.7 percent shooting from the field, 34.4 percent from 3 (122 makes) and 90.6 percent from the free throw line. Wilson averaged a WNBA-record 26.9 points to go along with 11.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks on 51.8 percent shooting from the field and 84.4 percent from the stripe, while finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Somehow, Clark was the betting favorite to win MVP entering 2025 despite Wilson being in the heart of her prime at age 28 and coming off the greatest individual season in league history. The hype machine had gone too far—again.
As a senior at Iowa, Clark had drawn a record audience of 18.9 million viewers to the 2024 national championship game. That was more viewers than any NBA or men’s college basketball game since 2019. She continued to shatter viewership records on draft night and throughout the 2024 WNBA season, and the women’s basketball community should be appreciative of the increased attention she has brought to the sport.
But she should not overshadow the rest of the talent.
In 2026, people seem to have come to their senses and realized that she has to actually earn the best-player-in-the-world title. But are they now being too hard on her?
Unfortunately, she was unable to be at her best in 2025, as nagging injuries limited her to 16.5 points per game, 36.7 percent shooting from the field and 27.9 percent shooting from 3 in just 13 games. It’s not fair to use that season as a data point suggesting that she won’t ever live up to the extraordinary expectations placed on her.
To be clear, she’s not No. 1—again, not yet. ESPN ranked her the 10th-best player in the league entering this season, and the nine players in front of her (including Bueckers after a phenomenal rookie campaign) are all deserving. But she shouldn’t have to be No. 1 for us to appreciate her greatness.
Her proclivity for shooting very deep 3s keeps defenses honest nearly all the way out to midcourt, which opens up so much for the Fever offensively. Yes, it means that her 3-point efficiency will likely never be top-notch, but look at everything else she’s able to do.
When efficiency fails her, the distributing will always be there. We’ve seen enough from her at the WNBA level to give her the benefit of the doubt there. Through four games this season, she leads the league with nine dimes per contest. Her court vision, basketball IQ and ability to easily whip long dishes across the court make her one of the best passers in the game.
And none of the league’s other great passers are going to combine such a high volume of assists with the scoring volume she produces. Efficiently or not, she’s going to rack up a lot of points. It may not lead the league, but it’s going to be in the conversation. Right now, she’s fifth at 24.3 per game.
In just 57 career games, she already has two more 20-point, 10-assist games than anyone else in WNBA history!
In 2024, 38.6 percent of her field goal attempts came inside the arc. In 2025 that percentage increased to 47, and so far in 2026, it’s 49.2. If she continues to mix in more 2-point attempts with her 3s, she will likely see her scoring average rise from what it was in 2024, and it will also likely lead to more team success for the Fever.
Defenses have to respect her long range shot and her passing, which opens up her 2-point scoring. Watching her play on offense is truly a joy because few players in WNBA history have had so many options at their disposal, from shooting to dishing to driving to stopping and popping from mid-range. She has the speed to get to the basket in a hurry. Factor in that her defender can easily be thrown off balance by the threat of a shot from further away, and she has the potential to be nearly unstoppable. Plus, if she doesn’t finish at the rim and gets fouled instead, she’s shooting 100 percent from the stripe this year (23-for-23).
So don’t overrate her. And don’t underrate her. Just sit back and watch the show.
CC is back to being healthy and reminding us all just how good she is.
Don’t criticize her or write her off because she’s not the best player in the world, because it was unfair to place that label on her so early. Enjoy seeing if she can indeed become the best player in the world.
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