Caitlin Clark Disrespected By WNBA GMs Before 2026 Season

Caitlin Clark, who is entering her third season in the league, is the betting favorite to win the 2026 WNBA MVP.

She's motivated to prove everyone right.

Of course, she's used to dealing with high expectations.

"Yeah, I mean, it's definitely easier said than done," Clark said. "And like, I think people forget at the end of the day, like, I care more than all of you. Like, I want to be the best. And, you know, I'm always analyzing my play. I'm always, you know, trying to find ways to be better.

"And so I think just that part of it, and, you know, I can always say like, allow myself grace, but you always have that fire and like that hunger inside of you to like always want to be better and like you're a perfectionist and then you get irritated when it doesn't go your way. But at the same time, like, I think that's what the great thing about the W is, like, it's game to game to game.

"Like, you're going to play three or four games a week and, you know, you always have an opportunity to turn the page and move on to the next one. So, um, just reminding myself of that and then obviously reminding myself how lucky I am to just be out there and be playing."

But heading into the 2026 WNBA season, the league's GMs aren't nearly as high on Clark as the betting experts.

Clark disrespected in preseason WNBA GMs survey

In the 2026 WNBA GMs preseason survey, Clark was not voted the best player in the league to build around. She was also not voted the best point guard in the league.

Paige Bueckers received 33 percent of the votes to the question: "If you were starting a franchise today and could sign any player in the WNBA, who would it be?" Clark, meanwhile, received just 20 percent.

Meanwhile, Chelsea Gray received 73 percent of the votes to the question: "Who is the best point guard in the WNBA?" Clark received just 20 percent of the votes.

Last year, Clark was No. 1 in both categories.

It's clear that the WNBA isn't quite as high on Clark as we head into the 2026 season. It's up to her to prove the doubters wrong.

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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 3:19 PM.