Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese or A’ja Wilson: Why Face of the WNBA debate has gotten out of control

In many ways, Clark has lived up to those claims. She’s a three-time All-Star who shattered league records in her maiden year in the league. Her gifts as a playmaker rival the sport’s greatest-ever passers. And although her shot selection hasn’t been quite as steady as one might hope, Clark remains one of the sport’s most dazzling talents at her position.

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Clark figures to be a perennial MVP candidate for the next decade. Supporters of the belief that Clark is the WNBA’s finest talent point to burgeoning revenues, increased media play and sold-out stadiums. Some have even suggested that Clark should be credited with bringing about surges in player salary. That’s a fanciful suggestion that renders the role the player’s union played in forcing the league to the negotiating table invisible. Then again, that falls right in line with the way some of the loudest “proponents” of Clark engage with the topic of labor organizing.

There’s a lot to like about Clark’s game. She produces highlights in bunches, recently exploding for 45 points and 10 assists in a win over the Storm, becoming the first player in WNBA history to ever put up that stat line. She is more than capable of anchoring a side to championship glory — especially when that side features other glittering talents like Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston.

MORE: Why Caitlin Clark declined invitation to participate in WNBA 3-point contest

She has also proved a darling among corporations. All 44 of Indiana‘s games feature on national television. Stephanie White’s side is the first and only team in league history to receive such treatment, another apparent notch in Clark’s belt.

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Therein lies the problem with declaring Clark the biggest star in the league, however. That designation ignores the factors that shape her stature — at least in the eyes of some of her most prominent “admirers.”

Clark is white, cisgender and heterosexual. Many of her peers are not — the league’s workforce is primarily Black, while Willis et al coded 63 players as lesbian (not straight) during the 2019 WNBA regular season, nearly 40 percent of the league’s player population. As The Ringer’s Seerat Sohi notes, the clash between those dueling identities has created a platform for the much-maligned “culture war” to take shape.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pushed back on the suggestion that Clark was the league’s biggest draw while lamenting a letter several GOP lawmakers penned calling for the league to take accountability for recent “attacks” on Clark.

MORE: Stephanie White calls out officiating after Caitlin Clark injury

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“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,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote on his Substack.

“Don’t get me wrong: Clark is a very good, possibly even a great, player. But calling any one player the face of the league, absent the sort of on-court and cross-platform dominance of a Michael Jordan or a LeBron James, is an insult to an awful lot of great players, starting with A’ja Wilson, who has won three titles and four MVP awards in her first seven years in the WNBA.”

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.

MORE: Caitlin Clark’s complete injury timeline from NCAA to WNBA

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Angel Reese

Reese’s case for the title of WNBA’s most prominent star is a bit hazier. She is a superstar in her role, already establishing herself as one of the greatest rebounders in basketball history (men and women) across her three-year career.

And yet, her on-court value lags behind the likes of Clark, Paige Bueckers and Olivia Miles, all of whom have emerged as All-WNBA-caliber talents in their nascent careers.

That’s not particularly surprising. Reese is at her best in a secondary or tertiary role, with her star attributes — rebounding, defending and play-making — shining when she’s off-ball. When Reese was the No. 1 scoring option on the Sky, they were one of the league’s worst teams. The Dream lessened her usage upon her arrival via trade and surrounded her with top-tier talent. They’ve become title contenders as a result.

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Perhaps that’s an indicator that Reese is not the face of the WNBA. Typically, those who are given that title are the centerpieces of their roster. Think Lionel Messi with Argentina and Barcelona, or LeBron James with any variety of the sides he played for. For all her plaudits, Reese does not carry that same weight. She doesn’t have to, either. Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray have long served as Atlanta‘s standard-bearers, after all.

Reese is not the “face” of the league. But she lies somewhere near the surface, taking hold of the spotlight on- and off-the-court in a manner similar to that of Clark, albeit in different ways. She’s arguably more social media savvy than her longtime rival, using her platform to create a podcast and land endorsement deals that align with her style and worldview.

That has made her eminently popular, especially among Black women, the demographic most represented in the WNBA’s population.

Reese has proven one of the WNBA’s most marketable athletes in recent years. Her endorsement portfolio is adorned with fashion houses, with Reese landing deals with Reebok and Victoria’s Secret. Her contract with the latter proved especially noteworthy; Reese became the first WNBA player to appear on the Victoria’s Secret runway.

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She also featured on Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit edition, another indication of her burgeoning might in the world of fashion.

Reese’s style of play might not lend itself to being the WNBA’s most marketable player. Her personality does, though. She’s an avid fashion enthusiast who has been outspoken about her interests on- and off-the-floor. She’s not quite the best player in the league. But she certainly has a case for the WNBA’s most savvy off-court figure. That might help explain why she has earned consideration for the title of “face” of the WNBA.

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A’ja Wilson

It’s not too soon to say A’ja Wilson is the greatest player in WNBA history. The Aces star’s accolades would suggest that even that designation might be too dismissive of her greatness.

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At 29 years old, Wilson has already staked her claim as one of the greatest players to ever step on hardwood regardless of gender. Her trophy cabinet bears scars of her on-floor dominance. She has four MVPs, three WNBA titles, three Defensive Player of the Year awards and two scoring titles.

Wilson has the highest-scoring season in WNBA history, averaging a whopping 26.87 points per game in 2024. She’s on pace to post the second-highest-scoring campaign in league history in 2026.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup champion who claimed MVP honors in each competition, Wilson isn’t just great. She’s eternal, both a whisper and a memory. She is surrounded by era-defining talents. And yet, she surpasses them in every way, adding new wrinkles to her game even as Las Vegas‘ roster waxes and wanes.

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On-court dominance does not guarantee off-court fame. More often than not, though, it provides a window into what prominence could look like. The most popular athletes tend to be the most successful. No women’s basketball player is as successful as Wilson, who boasts a social media following of about 1.75 million on Instagram and Twitter.

Clark’s acolytes, meanwhile, sit at nearly double that of Wilson’s.

What is to explain that discrepancy? Wilson is one of the league’s most charismatic operators, often capping off interviews and media appearances with beaming smiles and booming laughter. She’s a little older than Clark. But age failed to prove an impediment for the likes of Messi, James and Tom Brady, all of whom came to define their sport at a certain point in their gleaming careers.

Is Wilson the most popular player in the WNBA? Social media followings — an admittedly flawed metric — would suggest no. Using viewership numbers and commercial revenue to indicate “popularity” or “status” seems flimsy when multi-billion-dollar corporations have already made their decision on who to back.

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So, is Wilson the “face” of the WNBA? Maybe not. But when the tome of women’s basketball is penned and historians flip to the 2010s and 2020s, one player’s name will feature more prominently than her peers: Wilson.

If that doesn’t make you the face of a sport, it’s hard to know what does.