Women's Fastbreak On SI

Fans Convinced Caitlin Clark Should Surpass Victor Wembanyama in Top Athletes List

Bleacher Report released a '25 Best Athletes of the Next 25 Years' prediction list, and fans think Caitlin Clark should have a higher ranking.

Grant Young

Former Iowa women's basketball player Caitlin Clark reacts after a foul call on Iowa during the Drake vs. Iowa basketball game at Knapp Center on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Des Moines.
Former Iowa women's basketball player Caitlin Clark reacts after a foul call on Iowa during the Drake vs. Iowa basketball game at Knapp Center on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Des Moines. / Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There's no question that Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark has an extremely bright future.

But does she have a brighter future than any other athlete in the next 25 years? Bleacher Report seems to think so (with the exception of one other athlete), which they conveyed by placing Clark at No. 2 in a January 1 article titled 'Predicting the 25 Best Athletes of the Next 25 Years'.

The article (which lists Angel Reese as No. 23, Paige Bueckers at No. 16, and JuJu Watkins at No. 14) wrote of Clark, "Few athletes have had a more profound impact on the popularity of their sport than Caitlin Clark has for women's basketball over the past few years, going back to her time at the University of Iowa.

"With limitless range and a fearless trigger, Clark scored 3,951 points during her four seasons with the Hawkeyes, becoming the all-time leading scorer in both men's and women's college basketball," it continued.

"She won National Player of the Year honors during her junior and senior seasons, leading the nation in scoring and assists both years, and she averaged 31.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.9 assists her senior year.

"The Indiana Fever selected her No. 1 overall in the 2024 draft, and she won Rookie of the Year and finished fourth in MVP voting in her WNBA debut, averaging 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds while leading a team that finished 13-27 the previous year to a 20-20 record and a playoff berth.

"Attendance numbers for opposing teams when the Fever are in town tell the story of just how many eyes she has brought to her sport, and she is just getting started," the article concluded.

While most of social media seems to agree that this is a respectable list, many believe Clark should be placed at No. 1 above San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama.

"They got it wrong! Caitlin easily should be number 1 wtf!," one fan wrote.

"Yes. The Caitlin Clark!" another fan added in response to a post that asked, "Is there anyone that should be above Wemby?"

A third fan added, "Yes. Switch Caitlin and Wemby tbh".

Time will tell whether Clark should indeed be above Wembanyama on this list.

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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