Paige Bueckers has been the talk of basketball this week for all the wrong reasons. The UConn legend turned pro star was supposed to be one of the next big faces of the WNBA, but she is going viral after failing to secure a spot on the All-WNBA Team.

Even more humiliating, the story is being amplified because fans are comparing her directly to Caitlin Clark, who not only made the cut but has become the league’s defining name.

The All-WNBA snub stunned many insiders who believed Bueckers’ resume would at least earn her a third-team nod. Instead, her name was nowhere to be found when the official list dropped. Social media exploded instantly. Clips of her missed opportunities, turnover-heavy games, and less-than-stellar playoff performance began circulating as fans mocked her inability to keep up with Clark’s meteoric rise.

Part of the viral frenzy comes down to timing. Clark has been everywhere—smashing viewership records, breaking rookie milestones, and collecting endorsement deals at a level no women’s basketball player has ever achieved. Bueckers, once hailed as a generational talent herself, is now living in her shadow. Every time Clark succeeds, Bueckers’ own struggles seem magnified, as if fans are keeping a scoreboard on who is the true face of the sport.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Back in her UConn days, Bueckers was the golden girl of women’s basketball. She was the one ESPN analysts crowned as the next big thing. Her games drew major ratings, her highlights filled social media, and brands lined up for sponsorships. But injuries slowed her down, and by the time she entered the league, Clark had already stolen the spotlight and raised the bar for what stardom in women’s basketball looked like.

The contrast between the two stars couldn’t be sharper. Clark’s rookie year has been one long headline after another, from sellout arenas to jaw-dropping performances that forced broadcasters to reshuffle prime-time slots. Bueckers, meanwhile, has battled inconsistency. Even when she puts up strong numbers, the narrative is drowned out by Clark’s gravitational pull. This latest All-WNBA snub only cements the perception that Clark has widened the gap beyond repair.

Fans online wasted no time drawing brutal comparisons. “Caitlin Clark is rewriting the game. Paige Bueckers can’t even make an All-WNBA team. That’s the difference,” one viral post read. Others joked that Bueckers’ best highlight of the year was being mentioned in the same breath as Clark despite not earning accolades of her own. The tone was mocking, but also reflective of a deeper shift—Paige is no longer considered Clark’s rival but rather her cautionary tale.

What makes this sting even more is how closely the two players have been linked for years. College debates constantly asked: who’s better—Paige or Caitlin? Fans built entire narratives around their supposed rivalry. Now, with Clark cementing her place as not just a star but the face of an entire league, the comparison feels lopsided. Bueckers’ inability to make the All-WNBA team turns what should have been a private disappointment into public humiliation, amplified by the fact that Clark’s name is everywhere in the same news cycle.

Media outlets have pounced on the story because it feeds into an already polarizing discourse. Some analysts argue Bueckers is a victim of unfair expectations, pointing out that she’s still adjusting to the professional level after years derailed by injuries. Others insist the league is a results-driven business, and Clark has simply outperformed her. ESPN and sports talk radio segments have turned the All-WNBA snub into a referendum on whether Bueckers will ever live up to the hype that once surrounded her.

The sponsors who once viewed Bueckers as a marketable darling are reportedly nervous. Brand executives thrive on positive buzz, and right now, Paige’s name is trending for failure rather than success. Endorsement dollars are flowing to Clark, Angel Reese, and even secondary stars who’ve been lifted by the new wave of attention. Bueckers’ absence from the All-WNBA team risks pushing her further into the background at a time when she can least afford it.

Her supporters, however, aren’t giving up hope. Loyal fans point out that Clark’s breakout has created impossible standards for everyone else. “It’s not that Paige isn’t good, it’s that Caitlin is that good,” one fan argued online. Others believe Bueckers simply needs more time to find her footing in the league, insisting her story is far from over. They see the snub not as a career death sentence but as fuel for her comeback narrative.

Still, the optics are brutal. The WNBA thrives on stories and rivalries, and right now, Paige’s story is that she’s falling short. The viral mockery is damaging not just because of the snub itself but because it reinforces the growing perception that Clark is untouchable. Every league needs stars to challenge its biggest draw, but if Bueckers can’t rise to that level, the “Clark vs. Paige” rivalry dissolves before it ever truly began.

The coming months will be critical. Bueckers has the skillset to rebound and re-establish herself as a force, but she must stay healthy, consistent, and visible. Otherwise, she risks becoming the player who once carried massive hype but never delivered in the professional spotlight. That’s a dangerous label to wear, and once it sticks, it’s hard to shake.

For now, Bueckers is left with the worst kind of virality—the kind born from failure. Her absence from the All-WNBA Team has become a trending topic not because of injustice or controversy but because it highlights her inability to keep pace with Caitlin Clark. Whether she uses this as motivation or becomes another casualty of Clark’s meteoric rise will define her next chapter. But one thing is clear: in the age of Clark, everyone else is being judged, and Paige Bueckers just came up short in front of the whole world.