"This is like Lakers putting Austin Reaves instead of LeBron" — WNBA fans erupt over Caitlin Clark's snub on Playoffs graphic

WNBA fans were anything but happy about a playoff graphic that didn't feature Caitlin Clark. The Indiana Fever rookie turned the team around, taking them to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 after winning 20 games this season, seven more than they won in 2023.

The league's official X/Twitter account shared a graphic featuring one player from each of the eight playoff teams. Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty, Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream, Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx, Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury, Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun, A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces and Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm were included on the graphic.

For the Indiana Fever, they picked Kelsey Mitchell, who finished the season tied with Clark as the team-best scorer with 19.2 points per game.

This decision didn't sit well with a lot of fans, who were quick to criticize it, with some even saying that snubbing Clark is like snubbing LeBron James.

"This is like Lakers putting Austin Reaves on the graphic instead of Lebron, or Warriors putting Kuminga graphic over curry," one fan said.

"Kinda weird you left out the most popular player in the league who is on one of these teams. Ppl are finally paying attention to your sport and you're fumbling this, bad," another fan said.

Some thought the WNBA did it out of spite.

"The fact that Clark isn’t on this graphic should prove to everyone that WNBA is jealous of her success," one fan wrote.

Others criticized the league's marketing team over this decision, saying that they made a mistake by leaving their biggest star out of the graphic.

"Attendance way up, arenas sold out and you leave off the player responsible for the success? Bravo. 👏 👏," one fan said.

Caitlin Clark had a discreet season finale against the Mystics

In the final game before the WNBA playoffs, Clark and the Indiana Fever couldn't move past the Washington Mystics in a thrilling game. The rookie sensation failed to score in double digits for the first time since the Olympic break ended, but she wasn't that active in front of the rim.

She finished the game with eight points, five rebounds and eight assists after attempting five field goals and three 3-pointers. The Fever had a 20-20 record after a 1-9 start, with Clark becoming the clear-cut favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award and an MVP candidate.