Is the WNBA souring on Caitlin Clark? Why Fever star's stock might seem down entering new season

A new poll of the league's general managers conducted by The Athletic revealed that Bueckers is the player that the majority of those executives would take to start a team from the ground up.

It's a marked shift away from Clark, who entered the WNBA with unprecedented hype in 2024 following a historic NCAA career at Iowa. Bueckers though has been on fans' radar for years too -- she was the top-rated recruit in Clark's class of 2020, and she won a national championship at UConn, something Clark never was able to enjoy despite setting the NCAA's all-time points scored record.

Clark and the Fever could perceive this as a disrespectful slight, eight months after injury-wracked Indiana reached the WNBA semifinals and lost out to the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces.

No longer viewed as the league's "most fun team to watch," the Fever -- with their three All-Stars healthy again -- will look not only to reclaim that mantle, but reach the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2015.

The first chance to do so is on Saturday, when Clark and the Fever host Bueckers and the Wings at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana to begin the 2026 season.

More WNBA news:

• Why Mercury traded for Chloe Bibby and what it cost in return
• Caitlin Clark no longer tops WNBA GMs’ franchise player rankings
• Caitlin Clark breaks silence on leg sleeve amid injury concerns
• WNBA GMs send strong message about Fever star Aliyah Boston