The playoffs are right around the corner, and the top eight teams that will compete against each other in the postseason are now finalized. From the defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces, well on their way to defending their crown, and the three-headed monster, the Indiana Fever, dominating the league, to underdogs who are simply not willing to back down, the 2026 season has kept fans on their toes. But with the playoff debate now coming to an end, the MVP race has become the hot topic, and though ESPN has revealed its WNBA Top 10 Players of the season, fans are not happy about Caitlin Clark being behind A’ja Wilson.
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DraftKings recently took to X and revealed ESPN’s top 10 players list for the 2026 WNBA season. A list led by Wilson, with Clark right behind her. Yet, in the eyes of many fans, the Indiana Fever star has done enough this season to sit at the very top.
“Swap 1 & 2, when you have obliterated records early in your career, you should be recognized for it,” a fan wrote. “Only a crackhead would have Clark #2,” another added.
There is little to no doubt that Caitlin Clark has put together the kind of season that makes her one of the strongest MVP candidates in the league. After her injury-riddled 2025 season, the Fever star has come back looking like a player determined to remind everyone why she became one of the biggest names in basketball.
Clark is currently averaging 22.1 points, 8.3 assists (the best in the league, tied with Alyssa Thomas), while grabbing 3.8 rebounds per game. More importantly, she has found a much better balance between volume and efficiency. Her 60.2% true shooting percentage is a significant mark considering the efficiency struggles that followed her early WNBA career, especially while carrying a 31.8% usage rate according to StatMuse, the second-highest among players with at least 30 games played.
When it comes to her team, the Fever currently sit fifth in the standings. The Fever have also been one of the league’s most productive offensive teams by leading the WNBA in scoring at 96.6.
But some fans are not even sold on Clark being the No. 2 player on the list.
“Putting Clark over Mitchell is crazy work,” one fan wrote. While another added, “Olivia Myles is number 2, but ESPN has a agenda and narrative to push.”
Those reactions may sound harsh, but Clark does have areas that give her MVP case some cracks. On her team, she is the second-top scorer while Kelsey Mitchell leads the Fever with 24.8 points per game. And she has been one of the most consistent players on the team, while Clark was still finding her footing early in the season.
However, besides that, turnovers remain the area of concern. Caitlin Clark leads the league in turnovers (4.6 per game), and there have been moments late in games when her costly mistakes have hurt Indiana’s chances. Although Clark has taken responsibility for those errors, they still remain difficult to overlook in an MVP conversation.
Then there is Olivia Miles, the Minnesota Lynx rookie many fans believe should be sitting ahead of the 24-year-old.
Miles has played nothing like a typical first-year player. With veteran star Napheesa Collier missing much of the season, Minnesota still managed to remain at the top of the standings, and Miles has played a major role in keeping the team organized on both ends of the floor.
She has also made history, becoming the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 650 points and 200 assists, while breaking Caitlin Clark’s previous rookie record for most three-pointers in a game. So for a rookie already making this kind of impact, the MVP conversation is hardly out of place.
Still, looking past who should actually win the award, one fan may have summed up the Fever’s season best. “Fever having 3 players in the top 10 is crazy. They should be the favorites, right?”
With the MVP race now entering its final stretch, the debate around who should get the honors is unlikely to slow down anytime soon. And with the playoffs now around the corner, every remaining game could make the race even more interesting as Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, and Olivia Miles continue to make their cases.