{"id":889238,"date":"2026-09-09T13:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T13:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/889238\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T13:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T13:06:12","slug":"caitlin-clark-surprisingly-trails-two-international-stars-in-fiba-popularity-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/889238\/","title":{"rendered":"Caitlin Clark surprisingly trails two international stars in FIBA popularity rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Caitlin Clark remains one of the biggest attractions in women\u2019s basketball, but two towering Chinese stars have generated even more online interest during the FIBA Women\u2019s Basketball World Cup. FIBA released its list of the 10 most-visited player pages on the tournament\u2019s official website.<\/a> Clark ranked third, trailing China\u2019s Zhang Ziyu and Han Xu.<\/p>\n

Zhang claimed the top spot, while Han finished second.<\/p>\n

The result is surprising because Clark has become a proven attendance and television draw since entering the WNBA. Her popularity has followed her to Team USA, where she began her first World Cup by recording 14 points and 11 assists against China. Yet the tournament\u2019s audience clearly wanted to learn more about China\u2019s imposing frontcourt.<\/p>\n

Zhang Ziyu and Han Xu have captured worldwide attention<\/p>\n

Zhang is a 19-year-old center listed at 7-foot-4, making her one of the most physically fascinating players in international basketball. Han stands 6-foot-11 and already is familiar to WNBA followers because of her time with the New York Liberty. Together, they give China a pairing unlike anything most teams can match.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Caitlin Clark stands alone for Team USA in eye-opening FIBA rankings<\/a><\/p>\n

Their size, production and unusual combination have driven fans to their FIBA profiles. Clark was not the only Team USA player to crack the top 10. Paige Bueckers ranked fourth and Angel Reese finished fifth. Breanna Stewart was sixth, while Sonia Citron appeared at No. 9.<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s Cecilia Zandalasini, Belgium\u2019s Emma Meesseman and Mali\u2019s Sika Kon\u00e9 also made the list.<\/p>\n

The rankings measure visits to player pages on FIBA\u2019s website, not overall global popularity. They should not be treated as proof that Clark has suddenly lost her status as one of the sport\u2019s biggest stars.<\/p>\n

Instead, the list offers a snapshot of what has interested fans during this particular tournament.<\/p>\n

Clark entered the knockout round averaging eight points, 2.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists for the unbeaten Americans. Zhang and Han helped China finish second in Group D with a 2-1 record. International competition is partly about discovering players and styles unfamiliar to domestic audiences. Zhang and Han have given viewers a compelling reason to pay closer attention to China.<\/p>\n

For once, Clark is not the name at the top of an online popularity list. That may say less about her reach and more about the enormous curiosity surrounding China\u2019s twin towers.<\/p>\n

More WNBA news:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Caitlin Clark remains one of the biggest attractions in women\u2019s basketball, but two towering Chinese stars have generated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":889239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-889238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=889238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/889239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=889238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=889238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}