"Joke of an argument when JuJu Watkins is way better" - WNBA fans bash ESPN for snubbing Caitlin Clark as top 5 WCBB players of all-time

Before putting together a historic rookie season in the WNBA, Caitlin Clark shattered numerous records during her time at Iowa. In light of all she was able to accomplish, fans were outraged to see her snubbed from a recent all-time ranking.

Ahead of the 2025 NCAA tournament, the people at ESPN put together a list of the top five players in women's college basketball history. It featured countless trailblazers in the sport, such as women like Cheryl Miller, Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi.

Among those who didn't end up making the cut was the Indiana Fever point guard. For their reasoning to snub her, the panel feels Clark can't be in the top five because she didn't win a national championship.

As the all-time leading scorer in college basketball history, many fans felt Caitlin Clark belonged on the top-five list. After ESPN's rankings hit social media, it led to an array of reactions on social media.

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Other fans sounded off on ESPN for purposely leaving Clark off the list simply because of team success.

"People can’t hate @ESPN enough." One fan said.

"And they wonder why their network is dying," Another fan said.

"These ESPN people are unbelievably dumb—perhaps that's why few watch this stuff." Said one fan.

While Clark didn't win a championship, she did carry Iowa to the big game in each of her last two seasons. In 2023, they came up short against Angel Reese and LSU. The following year, Iowa fell to South Carolina.

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Cheryl Miller gives Caitlin Clark her flowers

Among the women ranked ahead of Caitlin Clark on ESPN's list was Cheryl Miller. Upon getting the chance to be around the emerging WNBA star, the Hall of Famer had nothing but praise for her.

On Thursday, Miller was a guest on the All the Smoke podcast, where she covered a variety of topics. Among the things to come up was Caitlin Clark and the narratives around her she had to deal with during her rookie season. As someone who went through backlash herself, Miller felt she could relate to what Clark has gone through.

"I can relate to that young lady," Miller said. "And I felt for her. I know what it's like to be hated. I know what it's like to be a black woman and hated because of my color.

To watch the dynamics and the media, they had their narrative. And I was pleased and proud to see the narrative wasn't the through."

Cheryl, the older sister of NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, is a pioneer in women's basketball. After winning a pair of championships in college, she saw her professional career cut short due to injury. Despite this, Cheryl was still inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.