Over the last few years, the WNBA has grown from strength to strength. With the arrival of Caitlin Clark, the league witnessed a meteoric rise in ticket and merch sales and overall fan engagement. The popularity led to fans and analysts asking the question. ‘Who is the face of the league?’
While it’s not an easy question to answer, the scale tips in Clark’s favor. Even though some people differ in opinion, Sophie Cunningham recently set the record straight on “Show Me Something” podcast. The Fever guard said:
“It literally like pisses me off when people are like, ‘She’s not the face of the league.’ WHAT? No, there’s really good, well-known people in our league, I’m not discrediting them. We have a lot of bad-as*es in our league.”
Cunningham believes that there’s a lot of talent and star power in the league, outside of Clark. However, when it comes to the biggest name discussion, she has an undisputed pick.
“When people try to argue like she’s not the face of our league or our league will be where we’re at without her, you’re dumb as sh*t. You’re literally like dumb as f*ck.”
Sophie Cunningham says she gets pissed when people say Caitlin Clark isn’t the face of the WNBA:
“It really pisses me off when people say she isn’t the face of the league. You’re dumb as sh*t, you’re literally dumb as f*ck”
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) July 30, 2025
Cunningham’s claims can’t be discarded as an opinion coming from Caitlin Clark’s teammate. The numbers Clark generated last year prove that she is, in fact, the face of the WNBA. As per Sports Media Watch, since 2008, no WNBA game averaged over a million viewers.
In 2024, it all changed, thanks to Clark. The WNBA saw a historic 23 game tally averaging over a million viewers. Clark featured in 20 of those games. The top 14 most watched WNBA games, all featured Clark.
What are the arguments made for and against Caitlin Clark?
If we step away from the viewership and attendance records, Caitlin Clark had a historic 2024 in jersey sales as well. In total sales, across WNBA and NBA, she only ranked behind Stephen Curry last year.
Because of her popularity and ability to handle criticism, former NBA star Rashad McCants called her “The face of the NBA” earlier this year on X.
“THE FACE OF THE NBA IS CAITLIN CLARK!!! Yea I said it!!!! She has handled criticism better than the people you consider THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME!!!!! @CaitlinClark22 your the GOAT!!! 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆👑” McCants wrote.
THE FACE OF THE NBA IS CAITLIN CLARK!!! Yea I said it!!!! She has handled criticism better than the people you consider THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME!!!!! @CaitlinClark22 your the GOAT!!! 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆👑 pic.twitter.com/l816Al8omo
— Rashad McCants (@SoundbiteKing) March 1, 2025
The biggest criticism against Caitlin Clark being the face of the league is that she’s very new to the league and isn’t a WNBA champion yet. As pointed out by Andraya Carter in July this year:
“To me, when I think about someone being the face of the league, it takes longevity to be the face of something, so the face of the league changes.”
Who is the face of the W?@Andraya_Carter makes a strong case for A’ja Wilson 🔥
⚡ Stream Vibe Check exclusively on @DisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/9dZzdw32fx
— espnW (@espnW) July 9, 2025
Carter acknowledged that Clark was the most famous player in the league, but to be called the face of the league, she needs to spend more time in the league and add titles to her resume.
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