Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark was named to the All-WNBA First Team on Saturday, earning the honor for the second time in her three seasons in the league. But not everyone believes she deserved it.
One sportswriter is arguing that Clark’s numbers don’t stack up with the rest of the First Team, pointing to her ranking in win shares and calling her selection “a media popularity pick” designed to appease the WNBA’s most profitable fan base.
Clark Makes First Team
The WNBA announced its All-WNBA teams before Game 4 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday. Clark was joined on the First Team by Fever teammate Kelsey Mitchell, MVP A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty, and Olivia Miles of the Minnesota Lynx.
Angel Reese, Rhyne Howard, Paige Bueckers, Jackie Young, and Shakira Austin made up the Second Team.
Clark, who missed most of last season with injuries, put up big numbers in 2026 and was a legitimate MVP candidate throughout the season.
She finished the regular season with 891 points and 333 assists, becoming the first player in WNBA history to reach 800 points and 300 assists in a single season. But she also led the league with 183 turnovers, and the Fever were knocked out by the Aces in the first round of the playoffs.
‘A Media Popularity Pick’
Chuck Modiano, a sportswriter and co-host of The Collision on WPFW, took issue with Clark’s spot on the First Team. He pointed out where each First Team selection ranked in win shares, with Wilson leading the way at 9.4 and Clark coming in 18th at 5.0.
“CC is not a Top 5 player in ANY combo stat. CC was a media popularity pick to appease a profitable fan base,” wrote Modiano.
When one critic accused him of cherry-picking stats, Modiano pushed back, defending his criticism against Clark.
“Taking total season stats covering ALL GAMES and ALL AREAS for awards based on an entire season is NOT cherry-picking. Cherry-picking is selecting arbitrary GAMES that exclude defense, turnovers and shooting % is cherry-picking,” Modiano replied.
He also compared Clark to NBA guard Trae Young, who put up huge offensive numbers but was held back in award voting because of the rest of his game.
“Trae Young led the NBA in both total points & total assists in 2021 & 2022, only 2nd time in NBA history. He All-NBA 3rd team (only time),” Modiano replied to another user. “It was part of 4-yr span he led NBA in ‘points generated’. He never received one MVP vote. Like CC, his defense, turnovers & FG% dropped him.”
Of course, Clark’s fans see it differently, pointing to her historic scoring and passing numbers. But it’s safe to say that Modiano was not buying that argument.
The post ‘Not a top 5 player’: Analyst calls Caitlin Clark ‘a media popularity pick’ for All-WNBA team appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.