“It’s Either Delusion or Jealousy”: Emmanuel Acho Gets Real About WNBA Players Ranking Caitlin Clark the 9th Best Player

On Monday, we finally got our hands on the WNBA’s All-Star voting results, and as expected, Caitlin Clark earned a starting spot and was named one of the team captains. Like it or not, she’s become the face of the league. But here’s where things get interesting: this much-deserved recognition didn’t come from her fellow players. It was the fans who propelled her to the top, while her peers ranked her ninth among guards.

Clark received nearly 1.3 million fan votes, which made up 50% of the weighted score, and that’s the main reason she’ll be suiting up as an All-Star starter and captain. The media gave her some love too, ranking her third, which accounts for 25% of the vote. But the players? You already know. They ranked her just ninth. It’s a head-scratcher, no doubt.

Sure, Clark missed seven of the Fever’s first 16 games this season. She also sat out last week’s hyped matchup against Paige Bueckers in Dallas with a groin injury. But ninth? That feels personal. And former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho seems to agree. Sorry, Kevin Durant, but we’re siding with Acho on this one.

“To rank her as the ninth best guard leads me to believe that it’s either delusion or it is jealousy… I’m not speaking about an individual WNBA player, I’m speaking about the WNBA players,” Acho said on The Facility.

“How do you vote her as the ninth best guard, though you treat her as the best, second best, or worst, third best guard?” asked the former linebacker.

https://twitter.com/TheFacilityFS1/status/1940074745959260265

Acho isn’t alone in this, obviously. Basketball sportscaster Dick Vitale shared on X his disappointment with the WNBA for how they went on to snub the 2024 Rookie of the Year. Vitale also felt it was “pure jealousy,” reminding everyone what Clark has done for the league. Charter planes, sold-out crowds, salary increases, better TV ratings, all that.

Absolutely PURE JEALOUSY that ⁦@WNBA⁩ players voted Caitlin Clark the 9 th best guard . Some day they will realize what she Has done for ALL of the players in the WNBA . Charted planes – increase in salaries-sold out crowds – improved TV Ratings https://t.co/TwGj1DtQMU

— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) July 1, 2025

Away from the buzz, Clark is starting to lock in for the upcoming event on July 19, which just so happens to take place on her home court, Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Acknowledging league commissioner Cathy Engelbert, the No. 1-ranked guard (according to fans) said, “We about to get that dub, Cathy.”

Surely, that snub will only make even more fans root for Clark to get the win.