Dan Dakich: WNBA missed out on Caitlin Clark popularity wave
OutKick host Dan Dakich talks on "Don't @ Me" about how the WNBA failed to ride the wave as Caitlin Clark's popularity rose with the Indiana Fever.
Chennedy Carter had something to say on Wednesday.
The Chicago Sky guard addressed ESPN's rankings of the WNBA's 25 best players, which had her ranked 24th in the league, in an Instagram story. Carter expressed clear disagreement with her placement on the list.
"How I average less minutes and my stats top in the league? But I am at the BOTTOM this isn't adding up, the hate be so obvious," she wrote. "F/G (field goal) percentage as well."
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Chennedy Carter does not agree with ESPN’s current top 25 WNBA players list 👀 Do you? #WNBA pic.twitter.com/kcK5iMEF77
— Women’s Basketball Tweets (@WBBTweets) August 14, 2024
The list had Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson ranked at the top of the list with the New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart coming in second. Meanwhile, Indiana Fever rookie phenom Caitlin Clark, who Carter aggressively knocked to the ground in a game in early June and has criticized online since, ranked 15th.
Carter is correct in that she averages fewer minutes per game than many of her peers above her on the list, including Clark. Carter has averaged just 25.1 minutes per game, which is the fewest of any player in the WNBA's top 33 players in points per game this year and fewer than any player higher than her on the list.
Carter has averaged just 25.1 points per game this year while averaging 17.2 points per game – 0.1 points more than Clark. Carter's 51.8 field goal percentage is also the sixth best of any player on ESPN's list.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, left, is guarded by Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter on June 1, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Only Wilson, Dearica Hamby and Nneka Ogwumike are scoring at a more efficient rate among players in the top 12 in points per game.
CAITLIN CLARK'S PLAY MAY HAVE WARRANTED OLYMPICS ROSTER SPOT AFTER ALL, COACH DAWN STALEY SAYS
But Carter has also put herself at the center of controversy ever since her infamous hip-check on Clark on June 1 that sent the rookie star falling to the floor. Carter then refused to answer for the incident at the postgame press conference but used her social media to repeatedly lambaste Clark.
Carter liked posts that said the Fever had nobody defending Clark on the floor and suggesting that Clark flopped to the court when Carter pushed her. There were several other posts criticizing those who may have been tuning into the league for the first time this season and weighing in on the incident. Another post took issue with the Clark question.
Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter, left, guards Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark on June 1, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"Troll notifications blowing up. I love it," Carter wrote on X.
Carter event went so far as to diminish Clark's basketball skills beyond 3-point shooting.
"That’s that on that cause beside 3-point shooting what does she bring to the table man," Carter wrote in reply to a post about her postgame press conference on Threads.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.
