Ex-All-Star Silencing ESPN Analyst For Justifying Caitlin Clark’s 11th-Best Vote Gets Lauded by Fans – “Look At Their Faces”

WNBA players voted Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark as the 11th-best guard in the 2026 All-Star vote.

Ex-All-Star Silencing ESPN Analyst For Justifying Caitlin Clark’s 11th-Best Vote Gets Lauded by Fans – “Look At Their Faces”

Stacey Dales, Caitlin Clark, and David Dennis Jr. (Image via FirstSportz)

When discussions about Caitlin Clark should be about her sore back, it seems members of the media just do not think it is ‘trending’ or ‘viral’ enough to draw ratings.

Therefore, they resort to talking about the controversies of the past few days, whether it was the Alyssa Thomas incident or being voted 11th-best among guards in the All-Star race.

Those two conversations dominated every possible platform, and some took it far enough to bring in race and everything else they could think of.

The 24-year-old tore into those so-called members of the media for creating narratives based on her name without knowing the facts. However, it is clear by now that nothing will stop them from continuing to do so.

Which is why David Dennis Jr. decided to drag the conversation on First Take when he claimed that there was no jealousy and pettiness amongst players. Rather, Clark was justifiably ranked the 11th-best guard.

You see 11th with Caitlin Clark, and it is insulting. It is preposterous… To consider the fact that some believe that she’s not even worthy of being in the top 4 or being a starter amongst these All-Star players is, to me, foolishness, because you have to look at the basketball, you have to break down the tape. But it tells me, are you watching the entire game?

Stacey Dales said

This was former WNBA All-Star Stacey Dales using facts and what she has observed about Caitlin Clark’s game that eventually left David Dennis Jr. dumbfounded.

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Fans applaud Stacey Dales for shutting down Caitlin Clark discourse

After hearing her opening argument, David Dennis Jr. tried to come back with his logic. However, Stacey Dales shot back again, suggesting that no other player in the league is scouted and game-planned against the way Caitlin Clark is.

Some noted that when the Andscape writer said his opinion the day before, there was no one to debate him. Now that he had someone, he had nothing to retort.

Fans rejoiced when they saw that Dales put Dennis Jr. in his place. They took to social media to express their gratitude to her, examples of which are below.

Without Stephen A. Smith helming the show, ESPN seems to have had no choice but to bring in whoever was available to cover First Take.

Fans believe that to draw this conversation this far, claiming whatever they want without pushback is starting to cast the WNBA in a negative light.

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Stephen A. Smith reminds Emmanuel Acho of Caitlin Clark’s worth to the WNBA

Apart from this All-Star voting mess, Caitlin Clark was also being criticized for apparently drawing the wrong crowd to the WNBA. Emmanuel Acho said that she is now becoming an unwanted distraction.

Caitlin Clark is the WNBA's growth engine
Caitlin Clark is the WNBA’s growth engine (Image via Chris/X)

He added that with the league now producing sold-out games every other day, her contributions are no longer necessary. This opinion happened to be bizarre enough to draw Stephen A. Smith back to his studio when he was supposed to be enjoying his time off.

Caitlin Clark is the cash cow. I don’t care what numbers you see the WNBA’s making. They are nothing compared to the numbers she generates… When they talk about their bloated attendance numbers, they feed off of her… The money, the bag, the ratings, the CBA, all of that came after Clark arrived.

Stephen A. Smith said on his namesake show

The 58-year-old mentioned that the two-time All-Star is not the one who built the league. Rather, it is the result of all the work put in by players who came before her.

But there should be no doubt that Clark is the one who pushed the league into a trajectory that has brought all this money into the league. Without her, none of this would have come, and it might not stay if she were to leave.

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