The Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) recently made headlines when they chose to feature Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese over Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark in a high-profile social media announcement about their official partnership with FM Cases, a company specializing in unique phone case designs.
On Thursday, the WNBPA took to social media to announce their collaboration with FM Cases, promoting eight different “officially licensed” phone cases featuring prominent WNBA stars, but notably excluded Clark from their selection despite her record-breaking rookie season and massive influence on league viewership and attendance figures.
The union’s decision to spotlight Reese while overlooking Clark has sparked considerable discussion among basketball fans and media outlets, particularly given that Clark holds a significant edge when it comes to television ratings, ticket sales, and overall marketability compared to her former collegiate rival from their memorable LSU versus Iowa championship encounters.
The social media post featured eight different phone case options with stars including Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers, Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson, New York Liberty stars Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart, Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, and Los Angeles Sparks stars Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink, alongside Reese’s featured design.
Despite both players experiencing challenging starts to the 2025 WNBA season, with Clark dealing with a quad strain injury that sidelined her for five games and Reese’s Chicago Sky struggling with a disappointing 2-7 record, the union’s choice reflects the complex dynamics within professional women’s basketball and player representation politics.
The timing of this partnership announcement is particularly interesting considering that Clark recently returned from her injury absence and continues to be in MVP conversation despite her team’s early struggles, while Reese has seen a statistical decline from her impressive rookie campaign, averaging 10.3 points and 11.8 rebounds compared to her previous season’s performance levels.
This selective featuring by the WNBPA highlights the ongoing narrative surrounding the Clark-Reese rivalry that began during their college careers and has continued into their professional basketball journeys, with the union’s decision potentially reflecting broader considerations about player solidarity, marketing strategies, and the complex relationships within the league’s player representation structure.
The partnership with FM Cases represents more than just merchandise sales, as it demonstrates how player unions can leverage social media platforms to promote specific athletes while making strategic choices about which stars to highlight, even when those decisions might seem counterintuitive from a pure marketability and fan appeal perspective.
While Clark’s absence from this particular promotional campaign may seem surprising given her massive impact on WNBA popularity and her 2024 Rookie of the Year award victory over Reese, the WNBPA’s decision underscores the multifaceted considerations that go into player union endorsements and promotional partnerships beyond simple statistical performance or fan popularity metrics.