NBA legend facing intense backlash over Caitlin Clark statement

Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark has emerged as one of the most polarizing figures in sports. The 24-year-old has amassed a huge following of faithful fans. However, there is also a significant number of haters and naysayers who seem to take pleasure in directing negativity toward Clark’s direction.

NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar does not exactly classify as a hater. However, the six-time champion had some choice words to say as he shared his brutally honest opinion on the debate over Clark’s status in the WNBA. Abdul-Jabbar made it abundantly clear that he does not believe Clark deserves the title of being the face of the league.

“Clark is a very good, possibly even a great, player, but calling any one player the face of the league, absent the sort of on-court and cross-platform dominance of a Michael Jordan or a LeBron James, is an insult to an awful lot of great players,” the Los Angeles Lakers legend wrote in a recent edition of his Substack.

Fans react to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s strong Caitlin Clark take

Abdul-Jabbar definitely ruffled some feathers with his blunt statement on Clark. As mentioned earlier, the Fever star has a very devoted following, who are also quite passionate about their idol. These fans did not hold back in their reactions to Abdul-Jabbar’s comments.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says calling Caitlin Clark the face of the WNBA is disrespectful to those who’ve paved the way. pic.twitter.com/qdJRyRknIo

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 15, 2026

“Kareem was always a jack*** and nobody could stand him. A cactus has a better personality. He sounds like a crusty old bitter racist man here. Nothing to see, move on….” a comment on X read.

“Kareem is a hater. He can’t stand that the WNBA and to some degree, the NBA are turning into leagues being dominated by white players,” another said.

“Too much noise. Let her play basketball and quit with the negative commentary 24/7. It’s disrespectful. She got the friggin league paid. Show some kind of respect too!!” a supporter wrote.

“I’m so sick of ppl like Kareem. Just over their bull****,” said another.

“Kareem just mad he didn’t get paid like the players today. Quit trying to compare NBA and WNBA. Two different leagues,” declared a reader.

“He’s pulling that hot take from 1981 when Magic made it clear he and Bird were the new face of the NBA. Cry harder,” a reaction read.

For what it’s worth, NBC published a report in May 2025 that Clark, with all the eyes she draws on the league, was estimated to have an economic impact of more than a billion dollars on the WNBA.

That was last year. At this point, Clark’s unprecedented fame just continues to rise, so it’s very much possible that number has proportionally grown as well.