WNBA stars jealous of Caitlin Clark as private | NBA News

Ever since the Indiana Fever chosen Caitlin Clark as their first general choose in the 2024 WNBA Draft, they’ve had a goal on their backs. Clark, with her Steph Curry-like vary, is a phenomenon not like any other in the WNBA. This has led to the Fever garnering important media consideration.

Lexie Hull, a guard for the Fever and close pal of Clark, just lately mentioned this dynamic in an interview with Glamour Magazine, highlighting perceived envy from others. When Clark suffered a season-ending injury, Hull stepped up during the playoffs. Despite coming within one sport of reaching the finals after a hard-fought sequence against the Las Vegas Aces, the group did not obtain the same degree of media coverage as they did in 2024.

“I think there is a level of jealousy when it comes to the Fever, just because of the media attention and the fans that have shown up for us ever since Caitlin got here,” said Hull.

“We’ve heard people and players and teams talking in their locker room about: ‘We can’t let the Fever win.’

“If you might have further motivation to beat us because of one thing out of our control, that’s high quality, if that’s what it takes for you guys to come and attempt further exhausting.

“I think a little bit of that is needed across the league… Everyone should feel like they’re getting everyone else’s best, and I do feel like we get everyone else’s best.”

Hull is not the only Fever participant to encounter this phenomenon. Sophie Cunningham noticed one thing comparable following the group’s defeat to the Los Angeles Sparks in June.

“We are circled on everybody’s schedule,” she remarked. “No one likes us. Everyone in our locker room, that’s the only type of people that we have that we can lean on.”

Clark established a then document for the most three-pointers scored in a WNBA season with 122 during her debut marketing campaign. This document was later surpassed by Sabrina Ionescu.

She missed out on claiming the league’s Rookie of the Year award unanimously by just one vote and assisted the Fever in ending an eight-year playoff drought.

This yr’s first-overall choice, Paige Bueckers, highlighted that the amplified media highlight brings with it elevated expectations.

“I would just say [Clark] handles it with grace, and the pressure that she’s put on every single night to perform at the level that she does is inhumane, really,” said the Dallas Wings star.

“To expect people to be perfect and not to have off games or off nights. If she doesn’t go eight-for-10 from three, people are questioning things. It’s unfair to have to deal with that.

“She’s a great individual at dealing with it, and just tuning out the noise and just persevering with to be there for herself and for her group.”