WNBA

Caitlin Clark is speaking out against the gross mistreatment of WNBA players this season ... saying no one should have to tolerate racist and hateful comments being hurled in their direction.

The W has seen a large increase in popularity after the former Iowa guard entered the league in April ... but it's clear some of the new spectators crossed way over the line when supporting their teams and players -- to the point where the org. and its players and coaches have had to address it numerous times.

After her Indiana Fever was eliminated from the playoffs earlier this week, Clark was asked about inappropriate fan behavior in her exit interview ... and she said the people who act out aren't really fans at all -- they're "trolls."

Caitlin Clark and a courtside fan got into such a bizarre tiff on Wednesday night ... security guards actually had to get involved in an apparent effort to cool things off.

The curious scene all unfolded in the first quarter of the Indiana Fever's playoff matchup with the Connecticut Sun ... following a foul call on the floor.

After appearing to exchange words with a man in the second row, Clark got the attention of the refs -- and pointed at the guy. She seemed pissed ... and moments later, arena officials tapped the man on his shoulder and escorted him away from the area.

Ja Rule provided the halftime entertainment at the New York Liberty's series-clinching win over the Atlanta Dream last night -- and can take credit for being the team's good luck charm ... home team was down by 5 at the break!!!

The platinum-selling Queens native ripped through his hits such as "Put It On Me" and local anthem "New York" (minus Fat Joe and Jadakiss).

Ja won over the Barclays Center with an energetic performance backed by electric dancing from team mascot Ellie the Elephant and The Timeless Torches dance squad!!!

Angel Reese's WNBA season might be over due to a wrist injury -- but she's still making highlights ... check out a clip from Usher's concert Sunday night, she briefly stole the show!

The Chicago Sky star hit up the Intuit Dome for one of Usher's big Los Angeles shows ... and at one point, the R&B legend cruised over to her table and began serenading her.

You can see Usher -- rocking a fur coat with no shirt -- stood in front of the hooper ... and belted out, "There Goes My Baby."

Caitlin Clark had a rough go of it in her playoff debut -- scoring just 11 points in the Indiana Fever's 93-69 blowout loss to the Connecticut Sun -- leaving the arena with a black eye after getting poked in the eye.

The eye injury occurred early in Sunday's contest against the Sun, with guard DiJonai Carrington poking the AP Rookie of the Year just 90 seconds into the game.

An alternate angle shows Carrington's digits going directly into Clark's eye -- sending her to the ground in pain.

Caitlin Clark's breaking records on and off the court ... her autographed WNBA draft rookie card just sold at auction for a record-breaking $84,000!

The Panini Instant one-of-one card features the No. 1 draft pick holding up her Indiana Fever jersey on stage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York ... moments after she was selected.

The Blue Viper rookie RC card was also signed by Clark, "guaranteed" authentic by Panini America.

NFL teams in need of a quarterback might want to see what Caitlin Clark's up to on off-days ... 'cause the WNBA star threw out some swag at the Fever game Sunday -- and it's clear, she's got a cannon!!

Check out video Indiana posted to its social media pages following its 110-109 win over the Dallas Wings ... you can see the 22-year-old signed some mini-basketballs, and then hurled them into the stands like she was Patrick Mahomes.

One after another, she rifled them to people who were sitting in Gainbridge Fieldhouse nosebleeds ... and people were left in awe of her right arm.

A'ja Wilson celebrated her new record for most points in a WNBA regular season ... by spending the day with NBA star Bam Adebayo!!

TMZ Sports obtained photos of the two basketball centers making their way downtown in Indianapolis on Thursday -- just hours after Wilson secured the single-season scoring title against the Indiana Fever.

The six-time WNBA All-Star and Miami Heat hooper were among a group of people on a stroll down Market Street ... and they appeared to be multitasking, as they had some grub in hand.

Greatness recognizes greatness ... and Tom Brady did just that on Thursday -- giving WNBA superstar A'ja Wilson a major shoutout after breaking the single-season scoring record.

Brady -- who is arguably the GOAT of the NFL -- gave the Las Vegas Aces center her flowers on X ... singing her praises for accomplishing the feat in just 35 games.

"There are so many incredible players in the WNBA right now," Brady said minutes ago. "But there’s only one A'ja Wilson!"

Taylor Swift wasn't the only megastar to throw her support behind Kamala Harris after Tuesday night's debate ... Caitlin Clark sure seemed to show she's got the VP's back in the race against Donald Trump as well.

Check out Swift's now-famous Instagram post -- Clark put a big ole heart on the love letter to Harris ... suggesting she, too, will be casting her vote for the Democratic Party's nominee in November.

The 22-year-old WNBA phenom hadn't previously indicated which way she'd go.

Angel Reese's rookie season is officially done ... 'cause a wrist injury suffered in her last game put her out of commission.

The Chicago Sky center took to social media Saturday to announce the news ... joking she couldn't imagine her last shot of the season would be a three-pointer -- before saying she's filled with emotion at the premature end to her year.

That said, AR says she's super grateful for whatever comes next ... adding this might be God's timing -- but, at least she can give herself a physical and mental break.

Charles Barkley believes Caitlin Clark is being grossly mistreated by her fellow WNBA players so far in her career ... and he's chalking it all up to "petty jealousness."

The Chuckster teed off on the current state of the W during an interview with Bill Simmons this week ... claiming despite all Clark has done for the organization, her peers are dropping the ball by being grade-A haters.

"These ladies, and I'm a WNBA fan, they cannot have f***ed this Caitlin Clark thing up any worse if they tried," the Hall of Famer said.

If you wanna watch Caitlin Clark take on Angel Reese in-person later Friday ... ya better have some deep pockets -- 'cause TMZ Sports has learned tickets prices for the big contest are SOARING.

A rep for Gametime -- an app that helps fans find last-minute tix -- tells us that as of Thursday afternoon, the average price to get into Wintrust Arena for the Indiana vs. Chicago tilt was $1,045!!!

To get a premium seat, the official says it could run you all the way up $2,013!!

WNBA star DiJonai Carrington just ripped into a social media user who trolled her with an insensitive George Floyd meme following her game Wednesday night -- calling the person's behavior "so sick."

Carrington was sent the edit on X just after her Sun team fell to the Fever in Indiana ... and it featured an image from when Floyd was being killed by former police officer Derek Chauvin.

In the post, you can see Caitlin Clark's face was edited over Chauvin's -- while Floyd's was replaced by Carrington's ... and the 26-year-old guard made it clear she was outraged by the visual.

Caitlin Clark had a pretty good night Wednesday -- she broke yet another WNBA record, logged a big victory ... and got to meet Simone Biles!!

It all happened at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indiana ... as Clark and the Fever were taking on the Connecticut Sun in a huge matchup.

Biles pulled up to watch the contest with Gabby Thomas -- and the two Olympic superstars were treated to quite the show from Clark.

Phoenix Mercury hooper Sophie Cunningham channeled her inner "Love Island" contestant prior to Monday night's game ... rocking a tiny dress and showing off her tan lines!!

The team's social media accounts highlighted the 28-year-old's wardrobe choice ... leaning into the fact she would fit right in on set of the popular dating show.

"this week a hot new bombshell enters the villa," the Mercury said on X alongside a slo-mo video of Cunningham's entrance.