The pattern is that Caitlin Clark blinks, and it trends before her eyes even reopen. Every move she makes gets LeBron-in-July-level coverage. Can you believe that Ice Cube’s Big 3 just fired courtside reporter Rachel DeMita because she simply couldn’t help mentioning Caitlin Clark 8 times on X (formerly Twitter)? The league viewed her behavior as marketing a direct competitor. Can you really blame DeMita, though? It’s just the CC effect that pulls people towards talking about her.

So when Caitlin Clark gives a historically bad performance, you know that every household is gonna know about it. That’s exactly what happened after her off night against the Valkyries. That evening, she couldn’t make it even once out of the 7 attempts from the deep, and finished with just 11 points on 3-for-14 shooting. The Fever eventually lost by 11 points. Every outlet covered it like the world stopped spinning – yeah, us included.

Naturally, you’d expect a performance like that followed by a media storm to leave her rattled. But that wasn’t what her attitude carried in an interview before the Aces game. She acknowledged her performance (or the lack of it) in the Valkyries game, but rather confidently. An interviewer pointed out that she seemed “a lot stronger mentally, better prepared for it” than last year. And Caitlin Clark didn’t flinch while adding to that thought. She said, “I’m not gonna play perfect for 44 games and I think that’s where I struggled last year.”

That’s a powerful realization to have, especially for a perfectionist like her. “I held myself to such a level of perfection every single night that I wasn’t really giving myself much grace,” she added. There was a quiet maturity in her words. One that promised that she is never going to break down like she did after Iowa fell to LSU in the 2023 national title game.

Back then, in the postgame interview, she had said, “I don’t think it’s gonna set in for me for quite some time… I hope I brought them (the Hawkeyes) a lot of joy this season.” Fast forward to now, and her mindset has taken a sharp turn. “I didn’t play very well at GS… I wasn’t defeated after the game,” she said, with a clarity that’s hard to miss. So, when that level of self-awareness meets her evolving skill set, it becomes a dangerous combination. And the Aces? They’d do well to take notice. The Fever did not win a single game against them last season. But this time, Caitlin Clark might just be ready to even the score.

All-Star spotlight? Caitlin Clark’s not playing for that

As expected, Caitlin Clark is topping the WNBA All-Star voting with a whopping 515,993 votes. While the honor speaks volumes about her massive popularity, she has made it clear that individual accolades do not motivate her. “It is what it is,” she told reporters. “People get really excited about that stuff, but that’s not why you play the game. I think it’s cool for the fans. It gets them involved and pumped up for All-Star Weekend, makes them feel like part of it. It’s a fun bonus, but as players, that’s not our focus. And honestly, fan votes are only half of it anyway.”

Caitlin Clark has been putting up impressive numbers: 19.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 8.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 41.7% from the field and 35.5% from three. She hopes to maintain that and stay locked in on her performance, not the spotlight. Still, even she couldn’t ignore the love her team is getting. “It’s awesome, and it’s even cooler to see how much support my teammates are getting too,” she added. “We had four in the top 10, so whether they make it or not, it’s just really special to see that kind of love from the fans.”

And she’s not wrong. In the first round of fan voting, eight Fever players landed in the top 40, including four in the top 10:

• (1) Caitlin Clark, Guard – 515,993

• (3) Aliyah Boston, Frontcourt – 446,961

• (7) Kelsey Mitchell, Guard – 277,664

• (9) Lexie Hull, Guard – 217,438

• (16) Natasha Howard, Frontcourt – 158,331

• (23) Sophie Cunningham, Guard – 95,116

• (30) Damiris Dantas, Frontcourt – 72,262

• (38) DeWanna Bonner, Frontcourt – 56,775

The team’s dominance in the voting even caught the attention of Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams during her Twitch stream, studbudz. She reacted live and said, “Their whole starting five was on there. Even players who came off their bench made the list, bro. No lie, that’s wild. But it just shows Caitlin Clark’s influence.” Her teammate Natisha Hiedeman chimed in, agreeing, “Her impact is unreal.” Williams added, “You can’t even hate on it because, like, she’s got motion.”

Sure, these are just early numbers because the fan votes only count for 50%, and players and media make up the rest. But the message is obvious that the Caitlin Clark effect is taking over the All-Star ballot, and the final roster will prove just how far her reach extends. Fans will close voting on June 28, and the league will announce the full All-Star lineups ahead of the game on July 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.