Whether it was being left off the league’s 30th anniversary poster or taking a hit to the throat from Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, the developments surrounding Caitlin Clark have continued to fuel criticism of the WNBA and its players. This week, however, the controversy reached another level after the third-year star was ranked the 11th-best guard by her peers in the voting for the 2026 All-Star starters. And as that unfolded, former NFL wide receiver and Pro Bowler T. J. Houshmandzadeh took a swipe at WNBA players.

“It ain’t your responsibility to try to humble me,” TJ said on Speakeasy. “They hating on her. They know they hating on her because she’s not the 11th best guard in the WNBA. Everybody knows it. Whether you want to put her one, two, three, four, five, she’s somewhere in there. Eleven? Show some appreciation for what she’s done instead of hating on the woman.

“Why do we do this? Eleven? There’s no way the media has her three, the fans have her two, but the players have her eleven. Does she not hang out with them? Does she not talk to them? Is she not signing their autographs? It’s something that she’s done to them because she’s not eleven.”

The WNBA All-Star voting is weighted with 50% coming from fans, while players account for 25%, and media members make up the remaining 25%. To put that into perspective, the fans ranked her second-best, while the media members ranked her third. But when it comes to her peers, Caitlin Clark fell to a new low, 11.

The ranking sounds shocking and drew criticism from Clark’s fans, considering the 24-year-old’s on-court production. Coming from an injury-riddled season, Clark is currently averaging 21.2 points per game, 8.2 assists per game, and 43% field-goal shooting. It’s fair to say that Clark has improved efficiency while maintaining one of the league’s highest offensive workloads.

But it’s not the first time her peers have humbled Caitlin Clark. In fact, just last season, she was ranked as the 9th-best guard in the league in the All-Star voting. At that time, that ranking surely raised some eyebrows. This year, meanwhile, is no exception either. In fact, at the time of her ranking, Clark ranks third in league in points per game and second in assists.

Which makes you wonder: Why has Clark’s ranking dropped from 9th to 11th this year? Houshmandzadeh believes there must be some reasons behind this. While he weighed in on Clark probably not hanging out with her peers or not talking to them, it won’t be unfair to predict that her stardom in the league could be a major reason behind this.

For now, what is clear, though, is that while Clark failed to earn a better ranking from her peers, she’s still one of the favorites among the fans and the media members.