A’ja Wilson is TIME’s 2025 Athlete of the Year for all the right reasons. The Aces star just delivered one of the greatest seasons the W has ever seen and capped it off with her third championship in four years. But it was her interview with TIME that truly left people stunned. The WNBA superstar pushed back hard on the idea that the league’s rise in popularity over the past two years is mainly because of Caitlin Clark. And that stance has sparked a huge uproar across social media.

W players being reluctant to acknowledge Caitlin Clark’s impact isn’t new. Recently, Stephen A. Smith brought up the topic with UCLA head coach Cori Close, and she had a very interesting answer to share.

“I actually had the opportunity to coach Caitlin Clark in USA Basketball. Even back then, she had a charism

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