With Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell earning starting nods, the Indiana Fever are all set to send three players from their roster to the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game again. But while Clark has secured a starting spot, the players’ vote has once again reignited the ‘jealousy’ debate in the league.

According to the final All-Star voting breakdown, the 24-year-old was ranked 11th among guards by her fellow players despite finishing second in the fan vote and third in the media vote. And that caught the attention of veteran journalist and On Her Game author Christine Brennan, who couldn’t help but question the disconnect on X.

“Caitlin Clark is 2nd in the WNBA in assists per game and T-4th in points per game. A year ago, her fellow players ranked her as the 9th-best guard in the league. This year, they dropped her to 11th. This really is one of the most interesting stories I’ve ever covered,” she wrote.

The WNBA determines its All-Star starters through a weighted voting system where fans account for 50 percent of the vote, while current players and a media panel each contribute 25 percent. And after those votes are combined into a weighted average, the four guards and six frontcourt players with the highest scores earn starting spots. So if it were up to just the players, Caitlin Clark would be sitting on the bench, and they couldn’t have picked a worse time to reveal that.

One of the strongest narratives surrounding Clark has been that some of her fellow players are jealous of her stardom. And over the past few weeks, that conversation has only picked up more steam following Alyssa Thomas’ controversial hit to Clark’s throat.

But here’s the thing: while through 17 games this season, Caitlin Clark is averaging 21.2 points (tied for fourth in the WNBA) and 8.2 assists (2nd) per game, there is another side to the discussion.

The Fever star leads the WNBA with 4.6 turnovers per game, while also accumulating five technical fouls, leaving her just three away from an automatic one-game suspension. So if offensive prowess was the only factor players were considering when evaluating their peers, Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, who is averaging 23.9 points per game, would have been ranked higher than the Fever guard. But she sits even behind Clark.

Still, whatever the reasoning was behind how the players voted, it wasn’t enough to keep Caitlin Clark out of the starting lineup. Because with her overwhelming fan support and a strong media vote, the star guard will still headline the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game alongside Boston and Mitchell on July 25 at United Center, Chicago.