Caitlin Clark is still not respected by her WNBA peers

Clark was first in the fan vote, setting a new record. She got the fourth-most votes among the media, which is probably more realistic, but still seems a little low. 

Clark has more than lived up to the hype as the No. 1 pick coming out of Iowa in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She finished fourth in the MVP voting as a rookie, as well as being named an All-Star.

For instance, Clark already has the most games with 25 points and 10 assists in WNBA history. 

In a win over the Liberty in June, after missing five games due to injury, Clark scored 32 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out nine assists and made seven three-pointers, becoming the first WNBA player to record that stat line. 

It was the third time Clark had at least 30 points, five rebounds and seven assists, which is the most any player has done in their first two seasons in the WNBA. Candace Parker did it twice in her first two seasons. 

To be fair, Clark has struggled recently, going through the worst shooting slump of her career.

Yet, she's still averaging 18.2 points per game and is second in the league with 8.9 assists per game, on top of 1.6 steals. Her three-point percentage is down to 29.5 percent. 

So, there is some justification for the way players voted, but Clark has missed seven games, and her drop in percentage is based on recent struggles, which might be injury-related.

History tells us Clark's recent struggles won't continue. We'll see Tuesday night in the Commissioner's Cup final against Minnesota, assuming she can play. 

Either way, it's hard to fathom that players believe there are eight guards in the WNBA better than Clark. 

It feels like Vitale is right, and jealousy might be clouding their judgment.