3 WNBA analysts who questioned Caitlin Clark’s impact on the league 

Caitlin Clark might not be everyone’s top choice for the WNBA Rookie of the Year award. However, the impact on the league and her ability to attract fans has been a topic of discussion among many, especially with the WNBA experiencing new heights in terms of publicity.

Some in the media have downplayed the Indiana Fever rookie's rise, offering some diverse opinions. Some have doubted the narrative that Clark was the driving force behind the league's rise in popularity, while others countered the idea that she was being targeted by WNBA veterans. Let's take a look at three examples:

3 WNBA analysts who questioned Caitlin Clark’s impact on the league

#1. Joy Taylor

Joy Taylor has been open about her thoughts on Clark's role in the WNBA's rise. In June, the FS1 sports analyst made a viral claim on "Speak" that Clark wasn’t a known face among WNBA fans before Angel Reese taunted her during the LSU-Iowa game:

"We were not talking about Caitlin Clark before Angel Reese walked up to her, did this (You Can't See Me taunt) and pointed to the ring. This is not my opinion. I lived it, I watched it. It was recorded, it was broadcasted live. We were not talking about Caitlin Clark before that moment."

After the backlash following Chennedy Carter's hard foul incident on Clark, Taylor said that these were isolated incidents:

"I think the conversation overall about Caitlin Clark, and the reaction we're seeing from a lot of people, has become a bit toxic," Taylor said (h/t Fox Sports). "I think this incident is getting mushed in with how people have been playing defense on Caitlin Clark, how physical they've been.

"Some of the comments some of the greats in the WNBA before Caitlin Clark [was drafted.] It's all kind of getting put into this pot of ‘Caitlin Clark hate,’ and I think it's more nuanced than that. I think there are a lot of things that have been happening with Caitlin Clark and the start of her career that are very normal to a lot of sports."

#2. Monica McNutt

Monica McNutt has been called out by many for downplaying Clark's impact on the WNBA. McNutt is one of the most renowned faces on ESPN talking about the NBA and WNBA.

When it comes to giving credit to Clark for her impact and if she deserved the popularity, McNutt has been consistent with her opinions. She has maintained that more than Clark, the veteran WNBA players should get the credit because they have been instrumental to the league for years.

She also supported Team USA's decision to drop Clark from the Olympic team and refuted the idea that Clark could have been used as a face of the WNBA on the world stage.

"She [Clark] is not there yet and I for me the basketball of it all is so very important that the Women's National Team doesn't need branding," McNut said on & PM In Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony.

#3. Monique Judge

Monique Judge has also shared her thoughts on the narrative surrounding the Indiana Fever rookie, in particular, that she is being targeted by veterans. The senior editor of DAME Magazine previously said that Clark was the Taylor Swift of the WNBA, the inference of which was that her fans jump to her defense. This led to a lot of fan backlash online.

"Caitlin Clark is the Taylor Swift of women's basketball. No, I will not elaborate."

Judge has also called Clark the "white damsel in distress" in the WNBA:

"The divisive narrative that frames Caitlin Clark as a white damsel in distress who is under attack by Black women in the WNBA has gotten out of hand," Judge wrote in her article on The Grio last month.

She also added that when a black woman WNBA basketball player even touches Clark, the Black women are painted as villains and made to answer questions.