Caitlin Clark is somehow underrated going into the 2026 WNBA season

Clark didn't receive any votes in that poll as the player you'd most want to take the game-winning shot for your team, which is objectively kind of silly when you consider what a generational shot-maker Clark is on the court.

Bueckers ranked higher on that ESPN poll than Clark did at eighth, and she was named to The Athletic's Alll-WNBA preseason first team. The recency bias is real for Bueckers' excellent rookie campaign, but it's also easy to forget what an electric debut Clark had in her first season and what she's still more than capable of when she's healthy.

Again, a year ago, there was no world where people were sleeping on Clark and the Indiana Fever. As the 2025 season got started, Gainbridge Fieldhouse was at the epicenter of the WNBA. However, Clark's various injuries took the spotlight away from the Fever just long enough to make you forget the team still made the 2025 WNBA semifinals with a rag-tag team of stalwart veterans and mid-season free agents. While there is "championship or bust" talk to be had with the Fever, it also seems like the WNBA community might be underestimating what this Fever team can do. How is it possible a Clark-led Indiana could be underrated by preseason analysis?

With Clark still getting so much attention from opposing defenses in her brief 2026 WNBA preseason reps, it's still clear that she's a feared presence on the court. While she might not be getting the same level of hype as she entered 2025 with, sleep on her and this Fever team at your own peril. They're one of the three or four teams that have the best chance at winning a WNBA title, and she's more than primed to make some of these preseason polls seem a bit off-kilter by season's end.

We won't be shocked if she and Indiana enter 2027 with more of that pre-2025 fervor.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: How is Caitlin Clark somehow underrated going into 2026 WNBA season?