It initially seemed surprising to the basketball world that, despite Caitlin Clark's arrival transforming the WNBA's popularity - bringing greater media attention, increased brand partnerships and attracting a wave of new fans to the women's game - many players remained reluctant to credit her for that impact, instead pushing back against that narrative.
Now, it appears that the league itself has joined that bandwagon. When the WNBA attempted to celebrate its 30-year history with a commemorative anniversary poster, one omission immediately became the center of attention - Caitlin.
And analyst Colin Cowherd did not hide his disappointment, arguing that the exclusion reflected the WNBA's continued effort to prove it has plenty of stars while simultaneously downplaying the influence of its biggest attraction.
The WNBA unveiled a Season 30 commemorative poster featuring 30 players from different eras, intended to honor those who helped shape the league's growth.
However, CC's absence was hard to overlook, especially because her Indiana Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham was included. To many critics, that made the omission appear intentional rather than accidental.
This is why Cowherd emphasized that the league made a huge mistake.
He acknowledged that Clark's career-high average of 21.2 points per game may not automatically make her the frontrunner for the MVP award. However, his argument centered less on production and more on overall influence, as he stressed how Caitlin's popularity might be even more than that of four-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson.
"The WNBA? They just keep driving into a wall, at full speed, with Caitlin Clark . You guys, when she broke into the league, you moved her road games to bigger arenas to accommodate the fans. And she's not in the 30-year poster? But Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese are? Recently, there were TV games, hers got double the ratings than A'ja Wilson - the best player in the league," Cowherd said. "This is a paranoid, weird, insular league."
One of the biggest reasons leagues like the NBA and NFL have grown into global entertainment giants is that they have never hesitated to promote their most marketable stars. Whether it was Michael Jordan in the 1990s or LeBron James after the turn of the century, the NBA, for instance, understands that building around transcendent personalities elevates its global standing.
Those athletes become worldwide icons not simply because of their talent, but also because they are embraced as the faces of the sport, helping transform the NBA into a multi-billion-dollar global brand.
This is why analysts like Cowherd feel the WNBA may be risking a major opportunity.
Rather than constantly pushing back against the idea that Clark has become the league's most influential player from a marketing standpoint, he argued that the WNBA should embrace that reality.
Ultimately, this debate is not about whether the WNBA has other elite players - the bigger question is whether they can fully capitalize on the hype Clark has generated.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jun 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
