Caitlin Clark is breaking a wild WNBA trade trend that no one is talking about originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Caitlin Clark is used to shifting perceptions and altering the norm.
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But the Indiana Fever star right now is breaking a WNBA trend without even touching a basketball.
MORE: How Sky’s reported Angel Reese replacement affects Caitlin Clark’s Fever
Eyebrows were raised around the WNBA this week when the Chicago Sky dealt Angel Reese — selected six picks behind Clark in the 2024 draft — to the Atlanta Dream for two future first-round picks.
The Sky’s next move in a bid to replace Reese reportedly is to acquire Rickea Jackson from the Los Angeles Sparks in a trade that would send Ariel Atkins out west.
If Jackson is dealt to Chicago over the coming weekend, it will mean five of the top eight players picked in the 2024 draft have been traded within their first two years in the WNBA. The only ones to remain with their original teams would be Clark, Cameron Brink and Kamilla Cardoso.
It is a surprising statistic that shows the overhaul that has taken place in the WNBA over the past couple years — and it also shows that some teams, like the Sky, are still searching for an identity.
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That isn’t a problem for the Fever, though. Indiana has made it clear since it selected Clark first overall in 2024 that the franchise was going to build around her — something that hasn’t changed, even though the two-time All-Star missed 39 games through injury in 2025.
