4 WNBA players are considered bigger trash-talkers than Caitlin Clark

Jeremy Beren

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4 WNBA players are considered bigger trash-talkers than Caitlin Clark image

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A viral interaction between Caitlin Clark and Jacy Sheldon last month reinforced Clark's reputation as one of the WNBA's most-talkative players.

In only one-and-a-half professional seasons, the 23-year-old Clark not only has emerged as one of the league's top guards; she is also an elite trash-talker, someone who could take the mantle of the legendary Diana Taurasi as the WNBA's foremost wind-up merchant.

However, Clark isn't there yet, according to an anonymous WNBA player poll conducted by The Athletic. Instead, the mantle has passed from one Phoenix Mercury player to another.

MORE: Fever's Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham among top WNBA trash talkers, but not voted No. 1

Upon Taurasi's retirement, it is Alyssa Thomas who now is regarded as the biggest trash-talker in The W. Among 33 respondents to The Athletic's poll, Thomas received the most votes with 13, followed by Minnesota's Courtney Williams (5), Connecticut's Marina Mabrey (4) and Seattle's Skylar Diggins (2).

Clark and Indiana Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham received one vote each.

“Everyone knows AT talks s—-," one player said of Thomas' trash-talking talent. "I don’t even guard her, and she talks s— to me.”

Thomas, 33, is a strong candidate to win her first MVP award this season. In her first with the Mercury, "The Engine" leads the WNBA in total assists (142) and assists per game (9.5). Her efforts have helped Phoenix to a 14-6 record, three games behind the Minnesota Lynx for the best mark in the league. 

“(Thomas) smiles and talks s—, that’s the crazy part," another respondent told The Athletic. "It’s psycho stuff, she’s crazy, man.”

So while Clark may have a burgeoning status as a trash-talker, it sounds like the two-time All-Star has to refine this particular skill in the years to come.

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Jeremy Beren

Jeremy Beren is a freelance WNBA writer with The Sporting News. A Phoenix native, he is a graduate of Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and he has a decade’s worth of sports journalism experience. Jeremy's work has appeared in publications such as Marca, SB Nation, Athlon Sports and Vice Sports. He currently lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.