Caitlin Clark comes second in poll of NBA players' favorite athletes outside of the league beating out Patrick Mahomes and Shohei Ohtani: 'Her game is so pretty to watch'

They say that game recognizes game - and when it comes to the NBA, the players recognize the talent of top WNBA pick Caitlin Clark.

Just a week after being selected first overall by the Indiana Fever, Clark came second in a poll of NBA players' favorite non-NBA athletes.

The survey, conducted by The Athletic, saw Clark beat out names like Patrick Mahomes, Mike Tyson, Shohei Ohtani, and Lionel Messi.

Clark finished about seven percent behind the winner, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, in a survey of over 100 NBA players.

Those who chose Clark sang her praises when asked why she was their preferred choice.

Caitlin Clark came second in a poll of the NBA players' favorite non-NBA athletes

Clark finished about six points behind the poll's winner, Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson

But Clark beat out stars like baseball's Shohei Ohtani and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes

One NBA player said: 'Her game is so pretty to watch. She's so fluid, smooth. … I hadn't watched a full game (of hers) until tournament time. 

I'd seen little clips and highlights and stuff. But watching her against UConn the other night, she definitely made a big fan out of me.' 

'She's unreal,' another NBA player said. 'I'm excited to see how her journey pans out and what she does for the women's game.'

Clark wasn't the only women's basketball player included in the survey. WNBA stars Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum and A'ja Wilson were selected - as was Clark's on-court rival Angel Reese and NCAA star freshman JuJu Watkins.

Jackson dominated the results - with Mahomes joining Jalen Hurts, Aaron Rodgers, and C.J. Stroud in the list of highest votes.

Other quarterbacks who received votes included Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Jordan Love, and Kirk Cousins. That last one drew one of the best responses to the poll, according to The Athletic.

Only one player said Cousins name, which drew a confused 'Why?' from one of the sites writers. The NBA player replied, 'Kirk Cousins because he gets paid and doesn't have to win or don't have to do anything and made $400 million off of one playoff win. Legend.'