Who would you rather start a WNBA franchise with: Caitlin Clark or Paige Bueckers? That was a question in this year’s annual general managers survey conducted by the league prior to the season opener.
Before the 2025 season, executives were asked which player they would want to start a franchise with, and 50% said Clark. This year, with Clark heading into her third season after an injury-riddled sophomore campaign, playing only 12 games, and Bueckers coming off an impressive rookie season, winning Rookie of the Year honors, GMs’ minds changed drastically.
Clark received only 20% of the vote, while Bueckers led the voting with 33%. This is where WNBA legend, Lisa Leslie comes in.
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Leslie, who will soon have a statue of herself erected outside of Crypto.com arena, said those general managers who didn’t vote for Clark, “are probably gonna get fired.”
She didn’t pull any punches as she expounded on her response to the survey saying, “This is a money business and the money is about Caitlin Clark.”
Leslie is spot on here. Reports say, Caitlin Clark has driven roughly 25%+ of the WNBA’s recent economic activity over the last two seasons. Clark has been the main driving factor for record attendance, record ratings, record merchandise sales, massive franchise appreciation, a $2.2B media deal, expansion fee inflation, and more. She’s not only the Indiana Fever’s, but the WNBA’s golden ticket. Her economic impact is off the charts.
BASKETBALL LEGEND LISA LESLIE PRAISES CAITLIN CLARK, EFFECT SHE’S HAD ON WNBA
Leslie reinforced these facts in her appearance on “First Take” with Stephen A. Smith stating, “Never in the history of the WNBA, have we had a player force teams to play in larger arenas.”
Just look at this staggering statistic between Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers.
In the season opener in Indiana, as the Fever took on the Dallas Wings, the arena was obviously sold out with 16,000+ in attendance. It was Clark vs. Bueckers, with the addition of the WNBA’s No. 1 overall pick, Azzi Fudd. It was obviously a hot ticket. Fast forward to game two for the Dallas Wings, who hosted Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream. They couldn’t even sell out the 7,000-seat arena.
“If you’re the GM, you’re obviously supposed to be bringing in money,” Leslie explained further.
It’s true. As a GM, your job is to construct rosters, understand financials as it relates to contracts and player’s value, while having a healthy, long-term vision that leads to championships. Revenue is certainly a factor, not the main role, but vital. Clark’s economic impact is far greater than Buecker’s.
We can certainly have a conversation about which player is better currently, and who will ultimately help lead their respective teams to a championship(s), but I’m with Leslie on this one. As she said, “I’m going with Caitlin Clark.”
If you factor in the marketability — though Kevin Durant’s media company, The Boardroom, believes Bueckers is more marketable than Clark — it’s a no-brainer who GMs should have picked. Just add this to a long list of snubs and disrespect Caitlin Clark has received over the last few years.
As for stats between the two this season, Clark is averaging 22 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 8 assists, while Bueckers is averaging 20.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Bueckers has been more efficient from three, some claim she’s a better defender, and she clearly takes care of the basketball better with fewer turnovers, there’s no doubt that Clark is still making a bigger impact overall on the court.
Hopefully, these GMs will wise up before they’re told to pack up their stuff.
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