Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has been one of the WNBA’s best players for much of her short professional career, but she doesn’t believe she’d stand a chance against any of her NBA counterparts. During an interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Clark was asked if she could play 1-on-1 against anybody, past or present, who would it be.
Andrews said Clark could pick anyone from the WNBA or NBA, and she kept it real.
“Well, like I would get killed by every NBA player, but like Steph Curry,” Clark said.
Caitlin Clark: “I would get killed by every NBA player [1 on 1]” pic.twitter.com/qehC80lFXK
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) August 3, 2026
Males have a physical advantage that females cannot overcome with skill. Clark, or any other WNBA star for that matter, would struggle against every NBA player.
Now, WNBA stars have actually been split on this subject. We just saw Kelsey Plum get traded from the Los Angeles Sparks to the Phoenix Mercury, and her take on this matter on The Residency Podcast was the same as Clark’s.
“Not even someone from the bench,” Plum said. “You have to understand, if we’re doing shooting workouts, skill workouts, I’m very confident in anyone that you put in front of me that I can compete. Just sheer size, athleticism, that’s the problem. Maybe I can score, but who am I gonna defend?”
Plum and Clark might get some threes to fall, but good luck trying to stop any NBA player from scoring. It is just too big an athletic disadvantage. There are those who would disagree, though.
Connecticut Sun center Brittney Griner infamously said she could beat DeMarcus Cousins 1-on-1 in 2016. Keep in mind, this was Cousins before he tore his Achilles. There were a whole lot of NBA players who didn’t stand a chance against him. Griner, despite how good she was, would have lost convincingly.
A more recent example was Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson. Wilson might just be the WNBA GOAT, and during an appearance on the Roommates Show in 2024, she claimed she could beat co-host and New York Knicks forward Josh Hart 1-on-1.
“I feel like the score would be like 8-11, me,” Wilson said. “… I’m not saying you’re going to go scoreless, but 8-11, I feel like it’s pretty solid.”
Hart made it clear he was not going to lose. Wilson then wanted to know what he thought the score would be.
“Man, probably like 11-2 [laughs],” Hart said. “… I’ll say like a good 11, probably like 11-7.”
Wilson wasn’t backing down, though. If you’re as great as she is, it’s probably understandable that she’d back herself.
Former NBA player Jeff Teague, though, bluntly said Wilson can’t beat any NBA, G League, or male college player when responding to her comments. Then earlier this year, Teague said he would score 100 points in a WNBA game. We’ll never know for sure if that was possible, but he definitely would have dominated.
Teague also said back in 2025 that Clark is a good player, not a great one. The 24-year-old is playing like a great one now, though.
Clark is averaging 21.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the Fever. The three-time All-Star took a bit of a step back in her injury-riddled sophomore season, but is back to her best now.
