Caitlin Clark's fans were unimpressed with WNBA analyst Natalie Esquire after she called Aces star Chelsea Gray the best point guard in the league. Esquire commented on Gray after her exploits in Friday's Unrivaled game against Napheesa Collier's unbeaten squad.
The Aces guard, on a two-year $392,535 contract, dropped 26 points, five rebounds and six assists on 9 of 20 shooting, including three 3s. Esquire gave a shoutout to Gray, saying she was heavily "disrespected" last year after struggling for most of the season following an injury comeback.
The WNBA analyst replied to an X user who said a healthy Gray is still not better than Clark, saying:
"Chelsea Gray is the best PG in the WNBA. That hasn’t changed b/c she had a down year returning from injury. The disrespect on her name was ridiculous."
The best point guard tag in many people's eyes belonged to Caitlin Clark after she exploded in her rookie season with a league-high 8.4 assists per contest. On the other hand, Chelsea Gray averaged 4.9 per contest. She wasn't comparable to Clark as a scorer, either, after managing 8.6 points. Clark tallied 19.2 ppg.
Angered by Natalie Esquire's opinion, several fans of the Fever superstar pounced on the analyst and called her out. One user jokingly claimed she voted for Clark's rival, Angel Reese, as the Rookie of the Year, snubbing the Fever guard of a unanimous vote.
"She is the one who voted for Reese ROTY," the fan wrote.
However, Esquire didn't vote for Reese. She doesn't have a vote in the WNBA awards.
Meanwhile, another said:
"Genuinely amazing that NBC still employs her."
One fan asked her employers to hold Esquire accountable, tweeting:
Another added:
"CC never gonna get unanimous anything. smh"
One fan opined Esquire was biased because of Clark's being white.
"I wonder what she would say if Caitlin Clark happened to be Black. They praise Reese even if she plays poorly because she's Black, I bet."
Another added:
"As Sheryl Swoopes wisely said, "What are the criteria?" In this case, define "best", please."
Natalie Esquire claps back at Caitlin Clark's supporters
Natalie Esquire wasn't tolerating the criticism from Caitlin Clark's fans after being called out for labeling Chelsea Gray as the best point guard in the WNBA. Esquire took to X to reply to a critic, who wrongly called her a voter, saying:
"I'm not a voter. I’ve also stated that repeatedly but I get it. Using my name, my image, my posts gets you the engagement & attention you so badly seek. It’s also laughable that you think there’s anything wrong with that post & that it would somehow invalidate me as a voter."
In a separate post, Esquire compared her take to NFL voters who have claimed Patrick Mahomes as the best quarterback but have voted for another player in the same position for MVP accolades.