Story by
Caitlin Clark Reveals the WNBA Star She Finds Hardest to Stop
- Story by
- Caitlin Clark Reveals the WNBA Star She Finds Hardest to Stop
(Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images)
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark named Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson as the toughest player for her to game plan against in the WNBA during her appearance on Kylie Kelce's Not Gonna Lie podcast, in a bonus episode that posted Tuesday morning.
Las Vegas ended Indiana's season in the first round this fall. Wilson averaged 32.0 points and 11.7 rebounds across the three games and shot 31-of-48 from the field.
Advertisement
Clark Says Wilson Is the Toughest Matchup in the WNBA
Clark figured most of the league would give the same answer.
"In the W, definitely A'ja," Clark said. "I think that would probably be everybody's answer. She's so difficult. Just her size, her physicality, her athleticism. She can make a mid-range jump shot super consistently. She can stretch the floor when she wants to, and she can finish around the rim really well."
Wilson led the league with 26.2 points per game during the regular season. She added 9.4 rebounds and a career-best 3.2 assists.
On Sept. 27, The Associated Press named her its WNBA Player of the Year for the third straight season. She played Game 1 against Indiana that afternoon.
Advertisement
Indiana Found One Formula That Worked
Clark said Indiana's approach in Game 2 is the one that worked against Wilson.
"She's one of those players, I think especially because that's who we lost to this year in the first round," Clark explained. "When you let a player like that see the first couple baskets go in, it's like, ah, it's going to be a long night. You're going to have 30. It is what it is."
"That's what we did well in Game 2, the game that we won, we made it difficult on her from the start," Clark continued. "And then in Game 1 and Game 3, she kind of just had her way, and it was what it was. It's usually she's going to get what she gets, and you kind of have to try to limit everybody else."
Advertisement
In Game 1 on Sept. 27 , Wilson had 38 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks on 15-of-19 shooting in a 102-85 Aces win at Michelob Ultra Arena. Clark finished with 15 points and 10 assists.
Wilson had 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting by halftime of that game, when Las Vegas led 62-47.
Indiana evened the series two nights later at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, winning 99-89. Clark's line in that one was 27 points and 15 assists.
Back in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, Wilson scored 36 points with 10 rebounds. She went 11-of-18 from the field and 12-of-15 at the free-throw line, and the Aces won 94-83. Clark scored 18 points on 6-of-18 shooting, and Aliyah Boston had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Advertisement
Chelsea Gray added 23 points for the Aces in Game 3. Jackie Young had 18 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, and Las Vegas went 28-of-35 at the free-throw line to Indiana's 14-of-20.
It was the second straight year Las Vegas eliminated Indiana. The Aces won a five-game semifinal series in 2025 that Clark missed because of injury, with the deciding game going to overtime.
Clark Says Kelsey Mitchell Is Another Difficult Cover
Mitchell is a common answer among other players, Clark said.
"I honestly see this answer a lot from a lot of other players in the league," Clark said. "People think that my teammate Kelsey Mitchell is one of the hardest players in the league to guard just because of her speed and the way she finishes around the rim and shoots the ball. But I would say for us, our team, definitely A'ja."
Advertisement
Mitchell scored 20 or more points in a WNBA-record 27 straight regular-season games in 2026. In September, she passed the single-season scoring record of 1,021 points that Wilson set in 2024.
Las Vegas held her to 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting in Game 1. She led Indiana with 23 points in Game 3.
Indiana's 2027 schedule will be the first under the league's 50-game format.
