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WNBA star A’ja Wilson was quick to address why the league has grown in popularity over the past two years and the narrative that Caitlin Clark is the main driving force behind it.
The Indiana Fever star has certainly helped increase the popularity of the WNBA since entering the league in 2024.
The Fever’s regular season game against the Chicago Sky in May averaged 2.7 million viewers for the most-watched regular season game in history. There’s no denying that Clark played a huge role in those numbers.
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark during the Commissioner’s Cup final at Target Center on July 1, 2025. (Jesse Johnson/Imagn Images)
In an interview with Time magazine after being named the outlet’s player of the year, Wilson said she thought WNBA history was being “erased for a minute” amid Clark’s emergence.
“It wasn’t a big blow to me because I’m going to do it anyway,” Wilson said. “I’m going to win this MVP. I’m going to win a gold medal. You can’t shake my resume. It was even more true, let’s not lose the recipe. Let’s not lose the history. It was erased for a minute. And I don’t like it. Because we have tons of women who have been through the dirtiest things to get the league to where it is today.”
The Las Vegas Aces center made his thoughts on Clark clear.
Wilson, in an interview with the Associated Press in 2024, acknowledged that there was a racial element to the sniper’s popularity.
“I think it’s a huge thing. I think a lot of people can say it’s not a black and white issue, but for me it is,” Wilson said. “It’s really because you can be great at who you are as a black woman, but that’s maybe something people don’t want to see.
Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson shoots a free throw during the first half of Game 4 of the 2025 WNBA Finals at the Mortgage Matchup Center on October 10, 2025. (Joe Camporeale/Imagn Images)
ACES STAR A’JA WILSON MAKES WNBA HISTORY AFTER WINNING 4TH MVP AWARD
“They don’t see it as marketable, so no matter how hard I work. No matter what we all do as black women, we’re always going to be swept under the rug. That’s why it makes my blood boil when people say it’s not about race because it is.”
She then addressed the topic of a racial double standard in a separate interview with Time earlier this year. She talked about Clark talking about the so-called “privilege” she enjoys.
“I know [Clark] I’ve had a lot of backlash because obviously we live in a world where they don’t want that, and it’s exhausting,” Wilson said in February. “But imagine dealing with that and then having to go out and play every night, having to constantly worry, ‘How are they going to downgrade my resume now?’ What more do I need to do to show how seriously I take my job and how seriously I take my job? But I also do it with love, passion and pleasure.
Las Vegas Aces center A’Ja Wilson celebrates during the 2025 WNBA Championship parade at Toshiba Plaza on October 17, 2025. (Stephen R. Sylvanie/Imagn Images)
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“A lot of people don’t want to see me at the top, and that’s fine, but I’m going to be there because I’ve worked my butt off to get there.”
