A’ja Wilson Reignites Caitlin Clark WNBA Debate

If Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson quit today and never played another game again, she’d easily be a first ballot Hall-of-Famer. Four of her eight WNBA seasons ended with MVP awards. On Tuesday, she was awarded the Time Athlete of the Year. 

During an interview with TIME‘s Sean Gregory, Wilson explained that, like many women of color who helped build the women’s league to what it is today, she didn’t take exception to the impact that Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark had on the league, but she did take notice. 

“It wasn’t a hit at me, because I’m going to do me regardless. I’m going to win this MVP, I’ll win a gold medal, y’all can’t shake my résumé,” Wilson told Gregory. “It was more so, let’s not lose the recipe. Let’s not lose the history. It was erased for a minute. And I don’t like that. Because we have tons of women that have been through the grimiest of grimy things to get the league where it is today.”

Even Clark acknowledged that in a December 2024 conversation with Gregory, when she noted that “as a white person, there is privilege.”

While many can connect the higher ratings to Clark’s impact on the game, Sports Illustrated notes that without Clark, who has missed the season with an injury, the league’s viewership still fared quite well. 

“Sometimes you need a proof in the pudding,” Wilson told Gregory, who clarified that the four-time MVP was in no way cheering Clark’s injuries. “The biggest thing for us, and why I was so happy, is that we continue to rise to the occasion. This was just a matter of time for us to really bloom and blossom. Because we have been invested in each other and our craft for a very long time. It was just like, ‘They’re going to pay attention.’”

Social media has, of course, gotten wrapped up in how much credit Caitlin Clark does (or doesn’t) deserve for the WNBA’s resurgence. See the reactions below.