Caitlin Clark’s Exclusion Prompts American Broadcaster to Criticise TIME Magazine as Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart Celebrate
WNBA vs. Caitlin Clark has been a thing since the 23-year-old dynamo stepped into the pros. Her fans and then some are convinced the league isn’t giving her the loyalty or recognition she deserves. And now, that pattern seems to be playing out on an even bigger stage. This time, it’s TIME Magazine.
The publication just dropped its 2025 TIME 100 list—an annual tradition where it celebrates the “most influential people in the world.” But there was one name glaringly absent. The one who arguably moved the needle for women’s basketball more than anyone else this past year. Caitlin Clark. And yes, that didn’t sit well.
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.” That line from American sports broadcaster Colin Cowherd pretty much sums up the reaction across much of the basketball world. “How is Caitlin Clark not in this?” he asked during the April 16 episode of The Herd. “That’s a joke… If Caitlin Clark is not in this, the list is nonsense.”
And the disbelief didn’t stop there.
TIME Magazine has long claimed to spotlight individuals who are reshaping the world. As their own mission puts it: “Focusing on the individuals who are transforming the world is the best way to help readers understand it.” They even honored Caitlin Clark with the 2024 Athlete of the Year award. So how, just a few months later, does she not make the cut for the TIME100—an annual list supposedly dedicated to “the leaders shaping the world today and defining its future,” as CEO Jessica Sibley put it?
In the same breath as celebrating Serena Williams and other global icons —including Snoop Dogg, Ed Sheeran, and DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis—TIME left out the very athlete who helped elevate women’s basketball to unprecedented levels.
Off the court, Clark shattered viewership records, brought sold-out crowds, and sent merchandise sales through the roof. On the court, she made the All-Star team, led the Indiana Fever to the playoffs, and rewrote the stat sheet. Her rookie year included becoming the first player in WNBA history with 20+ points, 15+ assists, and 5+ rebounds in a game—not once, but twice. She finished the season leading the league in assists at 8.4 per game, and ended up in the Top 5 of the MVP voting.
“She’s the most influential athlete, I would argue, man or woman, in America in the last year,” added Cowherd.
Last year, when 18.9 million televisions were tuned into ESPN to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes fall 75-87 to South Carolina in the women’s national championship, it marked the first time ever that the women’s final outdrew the men’s title game in viewership. And this year? The 2025 women’s national championship featuring UConn and South Carolina averaged 8.4 million viewers and peaked at 9.8 million. That’s still a huge number—but nowhere near the Clark-led finale. The 2025 draft saw a 49% fall too.
“Did you see the Women’s March Madness TV ratings?” Cowherd asked. “They lost half of them. Half the ratings just evaporated because she wasn’t playing college basketball.”
She made history at Iowa by dragging a no-star supporting cast to the national championship game twice—becoming the only five-star recruit on her roster, leading Division I in assists for three straight years, and finishing as the All-time leading scorer. Clark carried it to the league too. TIME magazine itself extensively covered the impact when they named her the Athlete of the Year. But honestly, for the 2024 ROTY, it wouldn’t matter.
She is all about elevating women’s sports. In her interview with the magazine last December, she admitted she was grateful for bringing the eyes, but hoped they were only scratching the surface. If the inclusion of Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier — the two women who set out to rethink women’s league and player prioritization with Unrivaled — it is not all bad a sign.
Not Caitlin Clark, But Stewie and Phee Just Made it to TIME
This year’s TIME100 list came with a quiet revolution in the world of women’s sports—and at the center of it were two WNBA stars who decided to stop waiting and start building. Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier didn’t just get named to the list because of their on-court greatness. They made it for what they did off the court—founding Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 women’s basketball league.
Unrivaled launched with serious momentum. It raised $35 million in capital and brought in more than 20 corporate partners right out of the gate. Its first season, which wrapped in March, featured big names like Sabrina Ionescu, Angel Reese, Jewell Loyd, and Brittney Griner. And it didn’t just draw talent—it drew fans too, with a total viewership of 11.9 million across nationally broadcast games. That’s not just a start; that’s a statement.
The league, which let WNBA players stay home in the U.S. during the offseason and earn strong pay, nearly broke even in Year 1. With $27 million in reported revenue, it’s clear this wasn’t just a passion project.
Four-time All-Star Collier, who plays for the Minnesota Lynx and Unrivaled’s Lunar Owls BC, and Stewart, a WNBA champion with the New York Liberty and Mist BC, were both right in the thick of it. As World Cup champion Alex Morgan put it: “Unrivaled makes female athletes think about everything differently… Sometimes you can do it yourself better.” And that’s exactly what they did.
