"Put her in the NBA" - Political podcaster makes case for Caitlin Clark to compete against Steph Curry and LeBron James 

Caitlin Clark remains a recurrent topic in the WNBA world after being named TIME's 2024 Athlete of the Year. After another great run with the Iowa Hawkeyes and a terrific rookie season in the W, the young guard received an honor that no other WNBA player had got before.

This announcement made waves among fans and journalists, with some criticizing her over her interview and the way she approached the negative comments thrown at her. Analyst and podcaster Adam Sosnik questioned this decision over Clark's lack of college titles.

“She’s been catapulted to this amazing star.,” he said, via Hardwood Heroics. “You know how many championships she won in college? Zero. “[The WNBA was] projected to lose $50 million this year but because of Caitlin Clark and all her great success they only lost $40 million this year. Name me a company that continually loses money, [then says] ‘let’s give her a trophy ‘cuz we only lost $10 million less than we expected.”

Sosnik then issued a unique challenge to Clark, asking her to face off against NBA players to show that she's the athlete the magazine is trying to sell.

“Will she be a great WNBA [player]? Sure,” Sosnik went on. “But if I wanna see her actually wear her merit, put her in the NBA. Have her play against Steph Curry, have her play against LeBron [James], have her play against Kevin Durant, have her play against the greatest players in the world then show me what she does.”

It's easy to see why that idea is difficult to implement given the physical differences between female and male players. Caitlin Clark is indeed one of one, but the narratives surrounding her don't help the league's plan for growth.

Sosnik wasn't the only one going after the Indiana Fever star in trying to downplay her latest milestone.

Washington Mystics owner criticized Caitlin Clark's TIME honor

A day after Sosnik made those comments about Caitlin Clark's impressive run, Washington Mystics co-owner Sheila Johnson also questioned why she was the only WNBA player picked to be on the magazine cover.

During an interview with CNN, Johnson first said that the WNBA as a whole should have gotten the honor since several players contributed to the growth in the 2024 campaign.

Even though the former No. 1 overall pick tried to uplift her colleagues and shut down negative narratives against her opponents, the attacks haven't stopped coming her way.