Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar Calls Caitlin Clark ‘Face of WNBA’ Tag Disrespectful, Fans Fire Back – “League Was Irrelevant Until She Came”

Fever superstar Caitlin Clark has been routinely drawing the most views and attendance in the entire WNBA.

Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar Calls Caitlin Clark ‘Face of WNBA’ Tag Disrespectful, Fans Fire Back – “League Was Irrelevant Until She Came”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Caitlin Clark (Image via FirstSportz)

Caitlin Clark has mentioned that all she cares about is playing basketball. She does not want to get involved in the off-court drama that surrounds the WNBA, even if her name is constantly being mentioned.

Those off-court controversies have been a constant ever since she first entered her professional career. In that rookie season, it was more about the resentment and jealousy from her peers than her game.

Eventually, when her performances caught up and she started lapping up records, the narratives started to die down. There was hope that this new trend would continue.

After her injuries ended prematurely, her third season started with her exploding for some epic performances. Ratings continued to rise, arenas were sold-out, and the anticipation for her first signature shoe left many waiting to see the real impact it would have on Nike’s stock price.

Even though several controversies followed, there was no doubt that Clark’s presence or absence had a direct impact on the popularity and revenue the league enjoyed.

Don’t get me wrong: Clark is a very good, possibly even a great, player. But calling any one player the face of the league, absent the sort of on-court and cross-platform dominance of a Michael Jordan or a LeBron James, is an insult to an awful lot of great players.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote on Substack

The NBA legend remarked in his article that those claiming that Caitlin Clark is the ‘Face of the WNBA’ were not justified, as she has not displayed the dominance that Michael Jordan or LeBron James have. Until she does, the ‘Face of the League’ should be someone else.

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Fans respectfully remind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of Caitlin Clark’s impact

In the past, whenever an analyst, current or former player, said what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote in his Substack article, they faced a lot of backlash, where some fans flat-out abused them to show their anger.

Some tried to do the same to the Hall of Famer, but most were respectful, knowing this is someone who is not known for drawing up unnecessary controversy.

They took to social media to ‘respectfully’ remind the six-time NBA champion that Caitlin Clark is considered the ‘Face of the League’ because she made the WNBA relevant. Check out examples of those reactions below.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar might have specifically pointed out that on-court success is important for someone to be in the conversation for the ‘Face of the League.’

Caitlin Clark has a few individual accolades, but not enough dominating accomplishments to show for it. However, fans felt that the way her dominating marketability has brought millions of new eyes to the WNBA, it is hard to say anyone can hold that mantle.

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Caitlin Clark draws millions to Aces game

If Kareem Abdul-Jabbar needed any further proof about how many millions Caitlin Clark draws, all he has to do is check the numbers NBC and the WNBA reported.

Caitlin Clark against the Aces
Caitlin Clark against the Aces (Image via Keith Murphy/X)

The Iowa native had been struggling with her back and played 16 minutes in her first game back from that recovery period. She then skipped the next game against the Phoenix Mercury, as it was a back-to-back battle.

Then, she returned for the game against the Las Vegas Aces on July 12th. Even though the Aces had A’ja Wilson after her recent tryst with injury, it was her third game since completing her recovery.

Considering all that, the game managed to draw 2.64 million viewers on average, peaking at 2.8 million. That made it the second-most-watched game since the year 2000.

Another controversy brewed up in that game, but it is fair to say that whenever Caitlin Clark is playing, she has proven time and again that she is the main draw.

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