Clark slips to No. 9 in latest ESPN WNBA rankings
Clark Drops Down List after First Half of Season originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Caitlin Clark has been one of the most talked-about players in the WNBA during the 2025 season. Despite missing 10 games, the headlines haven’t stopped for the former Iowa Hawkeyes star in her second year with the Indiana Fever.
Clark clearly leads the league in popularity, as the Indiana Fever continue to sell out venues around the country. But when it comes to player rankings, Clark has slipped a bit during the first half of the season.
In ESPN’s recent 2025 midseason player rankings, Clark dropped from her preseason spot at No. 4 down to No. 9. Her teammate, Aliyah Boston, jumped from No. 21 to No. 8, just ahead of Clark.
The entire list can be seen here.
Boston is averaging 16.2 points per game, third on the team behind Clark and Kelsey Mitchell. The former South Carolina Gamecocks standout is also pulling down 7.9 rebounds per game. ESPN justified Boston’s rise above Clark with this explanation:
“Boston’s role with the Fever has never been more important as Indiana navigated playing without Clark for nine games. Boston delivered. She entered the season as an elite defender, but her game has become more well-rounded. She is averaging a career-high 16.2 points on 58.1% shooting to go with a career-best 3.7 assists. Last month, she scored a career-high 31 points in a win at Seattle.”
Clark is averaging 16.7 points, nine assists and 4.8 rebounds per game. It has been a tough stretch for her, dealing with two separate injury stints. Here’s what ESPN said about her drop in the rankings:
“Clark is a difficult player to assess given her lack of availability due to injury — she has appeared in 12 games, sitting out two stretches of five games. Though she is currently amid a shooting slump (13-for-41 from the field and 5-for-19 from 3 since returning from her latest injury), she has shined with her playmaking. She has 19 assists [actually 22] over her past two games, including the 17th 10-assist game of her career Sunday — her first with no more than two turnovers."
At the top of the rankings, Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier moved from No. 2 to No. 1. The Lynx guard is averaging 23.6 points per game. She traded places with Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson, who has also battled injuries but is still posting 21.5 points per game. Rounding out the top five are Alyssa Thomas of Phoenix and New York Liberty stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu. Clark's rival in college and the WNBA, Angel Reese, came in at 18th.
Related: WNBA Commissioner Says Only Losing Teams Blame Referees
Related: Fans React to ESPN Reporter Monica McNutt's Cailtin Clark-JuJu Watkins Comparison
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
