Sage Steele: WNBA mishandles generational talent Caitlin Clark
‘The Sage Steele Show’ host Sage Steele claims the WNBA is mishandling generational talent Caitlin Clark. Steele criticizes the league’s consistently poor officiating, which has led to numerous uncalled fouls against Clark and other players this season. She emphasizes that this continued neglect risks losing the WNBA’s growing fan base.
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Believe it or not, we are just two months away from the WNBA Playoffs. There is still a lot to come in the season, but when the season is only 44 games, it tends to go by pretty quickly. This has been an interesting campaign. With two new teams in the league, a big trade for the Wings and a fall of sorts for the Aces and Liberty, there could be some new excitement in the postseason. Before we get there, let’s talk about the Sun and the most popular team in the league, the Fever.
The Connecticut Sun is 7-19 on the season and has only won three road games. I think this will be the Sun’s last season in Connecticut, and it will be one everyone will forget. The Sun started the year with just two wins in 15 games, but they have gone 5-4 in their last nine games, so at least the Sun is showing some progress. The biggest problem for this team seems to be that they can’t find anyone to get a bucket when they absolutely have to.
Phoenix Mercury forward Natasha Mack battles for a rebound with Connecticut Sun center Brittney Griner at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on July 19, 2026. (Joe Rondone/The Republic/USA T)
The team is led by Brittney Griner, but only scores 14.1 points in 25.8 minutes. This is his second-lowest total point production since his rookie season. Last year was his worst, recording only 9.8 points per game. Maybe it’s because he’s 35 and slowing down, but he’s not the force he once was. The biggest problem for the team is that it’s just a hodgepodge of players: some are castoffs from other teams, others are free agents who have been rebuilt. However, the pieces don’t really fit together well.
CAITLIN CLARK PUNCHED IN THE FACE BY WNBA LEGEND AFTER GETTING A FOUL THAT COULD LEAD TO A FINE IN A BIG WIN
The Indiana Fever have a better record than the Sun, but that’s not much of a challenge. I think one of the things to remember about the Fever is that they get the best effort out of every team they face, every night. WNBA players don’t like Caitlin Clark very much (at least that’s what it seems), and the effort level is clearly different in games with her involved. The Fever are 10-5 at home this year and have won seven of their last ten games overall. Another thing to remember about the Fever is that the start of this season was a major adjustment.
Caitlin Clark attacks the rim as the Indiana Fever takes on the Las Vegas Aces in a marquee WNBA showdown. (David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)
Clark was out almost all of last season, and her return to the fold once again, even after a really successful playoff run last year without her, meant the team had to learn new roles. She dominates the ball and is a great passer, so the team had to change their offense a little. The Fever appear to be getting back to where they were at their best last season, when they were looking to get buckets from Kelsey Mitchell. He has led them in scoring in eight of the last nine games. Maybe it’s a balance between last year’s success and this year’s adjustments.
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The Sun is not a team one would expect to score many points: averaging only 80 points per game. However, the Fever are not a very good defensive team and, once again, the opponent always makes a great effort. I feel like the total can go either way, I don’t know if the Sun can stop the Fever, but I don’t think the Fever have much interest in playing defense either.
Indiana Fever players Lexie Hull (10), Caitlin Clark (22) and Damiris Dantas (12) celebrate after the game against the Phoenix Mercury at PHX Arena in Phoenix, Arizona on July 9, 2026. (Kate Frese/NBAE via Getty Images)
CAITLIN CLARK DROP DOUBLE-DOUBLE 32 POINTS ON TAYLOR SWIFT NIKES AS FEVER SURVIVES SKY’S STUNNING RETURN IN OT
The Fever have a rest advantage in this game; They have been at home for a while, but they had two consecutive meetings before this. Even so, they have been out for a couple of days. Being in the same gym for several days helps with shooters’ sight lines and allows them to be more comfortable. The Sun will have a long rest period after this game, but will continue to tour. I like the rush at the beginning of this one because I’m not sure they’ll turn off the sun late. Connecticut has kept road games close lately. Give me first trimester fever at -2.5. I think this is where they will have the biggest advantage of being familiar with shooting.
