‘Not the Face of the WNBA’: Hot Take Sparks Caitlin Clark Debate originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
A’ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces were blown out on Friday night in Minnesota, losing to the Lynx 109-78. The two-time WNBA champion and three-time WNBA MVP didn’t have one of her best games, scoring just 15 points while grabbing three rebounds and dishing three assists.
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That may be a good outing for most other WNBA players, but not for the 6-foot-4 center, who is averaging 22.0 per game this season and was last season’s scoring champion.
After the game, Jaime Lardis, who describes herself as a former co-host of the “Who’s Winning Podcast,” jumped into the ongoing debate about the face of the WNBA.
“I think we can all say Aja Wilson is not the face of the WNBA,” Lardis said.
Who is the Face of the WNBA?
The debate ultimately centers around four players — Wilson, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, Lynx forward Napheesa Collier and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese — but most fans believe the answer is crystal clear.
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While Wilson and Collier are the WNBA’s top two scorers and have consistently proven to be among the league’s most dominant players over the past several years, it’s hard to overlook the surge in attention the WNBA has received since the start of the 2024 season. Television ratings, ticket sales, jersey sales and more have all reached record highs.
It’s no surprise that this spike in interest coincides with Clark’s rookie year. Although Reese also entered the league in 2024, Clark was the standout performer, winning Rookie of the Year over the Sky star, finishing in the top five for MVP voting, earning All-WNBA First Team honors, leading the league in assists per game and more.
Fans were captivated by a rookie who did all that while draining 3-pointers from the logo — something the league had never seen before.
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That said, Clark’s success shouldn’t diminish Reese’s accomplishments. Reese led the league in rebounding and, like Clark, was named an All-Star. Ultimately, it comes down to this season. Clark has missed 13 games due to injury, while Reese has continued to break numerous records, including setting a WNBA record for multiple streaks of 10 or more double-doubles.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) looks at the referee.© Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Looking back at the attention spike in 2024, it has since declined, and that’s no coincidence. With Clark absent from the All-Star game, viewership dropped by 36%, falling from 3.44 million to 2.19 million, according to ESPN.
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Ticket prices for Fever games without Clark have also plunged. According to TickPick, in June, get-in prices for a Fever-Sky matchup in Chicago fell 71%, dropping from $86 to $25.
It’s worth noting that the plunge came immediately after Clark was ruled out with a left quad strain. That game, like many other Fever road games, had also been moved to an NBA arena due to overwhelming demand.
This debate over the face of the WNBA isn’t necessarily a discussion over who the best player in the WNBA is. If that was the case, this season it would be Collier, the overwhelming favorite to win MVP at -1000 (ESPN Bet), and in years past, it would be Wilson.
The face of the league can be seen as the first person who comes to mind when people think of the WNBA — and that’s Clark. Many of the fan replies to Lardis made that clear.
“She’s just the best player in the W… the face is CC…,” a fan wrote.
“The face is CC until Juju arrives , good talk,” one fan said.
“Looool of course not. Never has been. Nobody even knew she existed till CC showed up on the scene,” another wrote.
“It’s objectively Caitlin,” added another.
“The only one that moves the needle is CC,” one fan said.
“She never was! And neither is AR! The WNBA outside of Clark is unrelatable, unlikable and resentful of their ONLY star in the league,” added a fan.
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Related: Caitlin Clark Makes Surprising Comment About Her Fever Future
Related: Caitlin Clark’s Next Move Revealed in Behind-the-Scenes Footage
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
