3X NBA Champ Stacey King CRUSHES Kelsey Plum for PETTY DISS at Caitlin Clark Over “Pay Us” Shirts!
When former Chicago Bulls center and three-time NBA champion Stacey King speaks, the basketball world tends to listen. King, known for his outspoken personality both on the court and now as a beloved color commentator, recently waded into the thick of the WNBA’s most talked-about controversy—one involving All-Star guard Kelsey Plum, the Indiana Fever’s transcendent rookie Caitlin Clark, and those already infamous “Pay Us” shirts.
What exactly is going on? The story starts with Caitlin Clark, the most electrifying rookie the WNBA has ever seen. After a record-smashing college career at Iowa, Clark was selected number one overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever. Her arrival has drawn not just sellout crowds, but millions of new eyeballs to the league, sending TV ratings and merchandise sales through the roof. Overnight, the Fever went from also-rans to must-see TV.
Yet, not everyone in the WNBA was thrilled at the newfound spotlight or Clark’s lucrative endorsements. Enter the Las Vegas Aces, the league’s reigning superteam, and their fiery All-Star guard Kelsey Plum. This season, Aces players began wearing “Pay Us” t-shirts—a protest calling for higher salaries and better revenue sharing—during warmups and news conferences. Plum, never shy about speaking her mind, reportedly made what many perceived as a subtle dig at Clark, suggesting that while Clark was raking in money, veterans and league pioneers remained vastly underpaid.
That’s when things really got spicy—and when Stacey King decided to sound off on the feud that divided basketball fans nationwide.
Stacey King: “This Ain’t It, Kelsey!”
Appearing on a popular hoops podcast, Stacey King pulled no punches in calling Plum’s actions “petty” and “counterproductive.” King, who experienced both the spotlight and the grind as a key role player on Michael Jordan’s Bulls, said he sympathizes with the fight for WNBA wages but thinks Plum’s t-shirt protest and comments about Clark are misdirected:
“Listen, I get the frustration. You want to get paid. Every player in every sport wants to be paid their worth. But you don’t get there by throwing shade at the person bringing money into your league! Caitlin Clark isn’t the problem—she’s the catalyst!” King thundered mid-show, his trademark bravado on full display.
King likened Clark’s effect on the WNBA to what Magic Johnson and Larry Bird brought to the struggling NBA in the late 1970s: “When those guys came in, the NBA exploded. Ratings, sponsorships—everyone got paid, in time. You uplift the stars who move the needle! You don’t alienate them.”
He went on: “Kelsey Plum and those Aces—y’all are great players, two-time champs. But if anything, you should be thanking Caitlin Clark for putting more eyes on the game, making it possible for those checks to get bigger!”
A Nuanced Debate Over Fairness and Progress
Of course, Plum’s supporters argue she’s right to demand fairer pay structure. With rookies like Clark now earning more in endorsements than some veterans make in salary, they wonder: will established stars ever see their payday, or will the new generation reap all the benefits?
“Clark deserves her flowers, but we built this!” Plum said after donning a ‘Pay Us’ shirt before a nationally televised game, adding, “We want to grow the pie for all—not just for one.”
Yet, to some, the optics of established stars showing up new blood in such a public manner feels more like resentment than solidarity.
NBA stars weighed in on social media—many, like LeBron James, advocated for unity and collective bargaining rather than “calling out each other for the world to see.” James tweeted, “Lift each other up. The money comes when you all win—together.”
The History: WNBA Salaries in the Spotlight
The “Pay Us” movement highlights long-standing tension in women’s basketball. For decades, WNBA players have fought for better salaries, pointing to the billions generated by the NBA and lamenting their own capped earning potential. Under the current CBA, the maximum WNBA salary is just over $250,000—a small fraction of what NBA stars make.
The Clark effect, though, offers new hope. Nielsen recently reported WNBA game viewership more than doubling in 2024, largely on the back of Clark’s stardom. Fever jersey sales surged, ticket prices soared, and league sponsorships hit all-time highs.
“This is a moment. WNBA players should ride the wave—not fight the tide,” King continued, calling Clark “the tide that raises all boats.”
Media and Fans Fuel the Fire
Sports talk shows and ESPN pundits rushed to analyze King’s comments. Some agreed—“the pie gets bigger when the stars shine brightest,” said Stephen A. Smith. Others accused King of “protecting the golden goose rather than supporting grassroots equality.”
Social media, predictably, was ablaze. Clark fans rejoiced at King’s support, while others accused him of “minimizing years of struggle” by OG WNBA players. Hashtags like #PayUs and #StandWithClark trended in parallel, highlighting the generation-gap fissures now cleaving the league’s culture.
The Solution? Stacey King’s Call for Unity
King closed his appearance with a plea for common cause: “Don’t lose the message in the moment. Of course, you want higher pay. But don’t use someone else’s shine to throw shade. Don’t let pettiness eclipse progress. Want to get paid? Build together. That’s how real dynasties do it.”
He’s got a point. The NBA’s mega-salaries weren’t built overnight. They arrived because Bird, Magic, and then Jordan made the league irresistible—for fans and sponsors alike. Players harnessed that momentum, fighting for bigger slices of a growing pie.
Now the WNBA is poised for its own leap. Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Plum, and Stacey King—three distinctive voices, three different eras. If they can lock arms as well as they shoot, the payday everyone wants might finally be within reach.
For now, expect the “Pay Us” shirts to keep coming, the debate to stay white-hot, and Stacey King to tell it like it is—whether you like it or not.
