Caitlin Clark remains one of the frontrunners in the WNBA MVP race this season as ESPN shared a graphic ranking her among the Top 4 candidates. The image, however, quickly became a talking point as fans were left furious over Clark’s inclusion ahead of Olivia Miles.
Chris Williamson was the first to raise the issue, as the sportscaster shared an image of the top-4 MVP graphic on X (formerly Twitter).
“EYE know I did not see an MVP race graphic that didn’t even have THE Magic Miles on it,” Williamson wrote.
The graphic featured Clark, reigning MVP A’ja Wilson, Wings star Paige Bueckers and Clark’s teammate Kelsey Mitchell as the Top 4 in the MVP race, a sight that left many fans furious, believing Clark was receiving special treatment.
“ESPN is really pushing Clark hard! You can see Clark gets stuff handed to her while everyone else is in the dirt earning their keeps!” a fan wrote.
While fans were furious by Miles’ omission from the list, the truth is the rookie is still a little farther off than the aforementioned four. The Lynx guard has undoubtedly impressed, averaging 19.4 points and 5.8 assists in her first season, but is yet to reach MVP levels.
All four players in ESPN’s graphic are averaging more than 20 points per game while also ranking inside the top five in at least one major statistical category this season. Miles has established herself as one of the league’s top young players, but she is still a step behind the current MVP contenders.
However, she got the better of Clark on Sunday. In their first WNBA meeting, Miles led the Lynx with 28 points as Minnesota defeated the Fever 108-100.
Caitlin Clark praises her teammates for shutting down Olivia Miles in the “second half”
The Indiana Fever suffered a narrow loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday as Olivia Miles got the better of Caitlin Clark in their first WNBA meeting. The win was Minnesota’s 10th straight, while it snapped Indiana’s five-game winning streak.
After the game, Clark reflected on the defeat and praised her team’s defensive effort against Miles.
“Like we found a way to fight. I thought our second-half defense was a lot better, especially on Miles,” Clark said. “We really limited her in the second half. Obviously, she came up with a huge bucket at the end of the game, but other than that, we kind of took her out of the game.
“I’m proud of our group for finding ways to adjust. That’s what you have to do against a really good team.”
Their first matchup lived up to the hype, and with two more meetings still to come this season, fans will be hoping for more closely contested battles between the two young stars.
Edited by Arian Kashyap