What was the biggest headline during last year’s WNBA All-Star Game? Caitlin Clark. And this year? Yes, still Clark. The rookie wave started by Clark and Angel Reese, ending a whole decade-long drought. 2024 marked the first time since 2014 that multiple rookies made the All-Star roster. History is repeating itself again this year. Two more rookies – Paige Bueckers and Kiki Iriafen- are charging right into that spotlight. But shockingly, that’s not even the biggest headline this time. You know what it is? The Indiana Fever is dominating the All-Star voting leaderboard. 

Now, we already know the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game is set for July 19 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (home turf for the Fever). And fans aren’t the only ones with power here. The starters will be picked by a combo of fans, current players, and media. Eventually, the two players with the highest fan votes will be named captains and then draft the squads. 

Anyway, back to the votes. The WNBA dropped the first round of fan voting on Friday. No surprise, Caitlin Clark is sitting on top with a jaw-dropping 515,993 votes. But Clark isn’t alone in getting all the love. Three of her Fever teammates are right up there with her. Aliyah Boston came in third with 446,961 votes. Kelsey Mitchell is sitting in seventh with 277,664. And then there’s Lexie Hull. Yes, a role player who’s averaging 9.1 points and 4.1 rebounds while giving elite perimeter defense – ninth place with 217,438 votes. 

Fever fans are showing up loud and proud. No doubt, Indiana’s support is turning heads all across the league. The Minnesota Lynx duo, Courtney Williams and Natisha Heideman, didn’t even try to play it cool. “Fever whole starting 5 was on that list. Even folks that came off their bench…” Williams straight up said what most are thinking but not saying. 

If you scroll down the list past the top 10, you’ll find eight Fever players in the top 40. Natasha Howard is at No. 16 with 158,331 votes. Sophie Cunningham is currently ranked No. 23 with 95,116. For context, Cunningham wasn’t even in the top 30 last year. But this time? Her viral “revenge foul” boosted her profile like crazy. Her social media following shot up, jersey sales are climbing, and her name is out there in a big way. Then we have Damiris Dantas at 30 with 72,262 and DeWanna Bonner at 38 with  56,775. 

The only other team that came close to matching that kind of presence is the New York Liberty, with four players in the top 40. That’s it. So the Fever has a chokehold on this thing right now. Still, Caitlin Clark isn’t letting it get to her head. “People get so hyped up over that, but that’s not why you play the game,” she said, trying to downplay the madness.  But Williams, again, came through with a truth bomb: “That really shows you the influence that Caitlin Clark got. Her influence is crazy.”

Heideman didn’t miss a beat, backing, “Let’s just state the facts.” And they both agreed: you can’t even hate on it. “They got motion.” Well, they do. Nobody’s having a better time right now than Indiana sports fans. The Pacers are chasing a title in Game 7, and the Fever are riding this Clark wave all the way. Five of their away games this season had to be moved to bigger arenas. Fever games are averaging over 16,000 fans league-wide. Their home court is selling out game after game. That’s not just momentum. That’s a fanbase showing up like never before.

But before you start penciling in the entire Fever squad for the All-Star Game, just remember – this is only the first fan vote return. Like we said, fans get half the vote. The other half is up to the players and media, and we still don’t know how that’s going to shake out. Once the final All-Stars are named, the league will hold a draft again. That’s happening on July 8.

So we’ve still got time to see how things play out. But if there’s one thing that’s already crystal clear,  Indy fans are riding for their squad like no one else. “Who ends up being an All-Star or not, it’s still cool to see the type of love that you get from the fans,” CC said.

Meanwhile, on a bigger scale, these numbers tell us something important. This isn’t just about one team getting a bunch of votes. It’s about how the whole league is feeling the ripple effect.

Caitlin Clark’s star power sends WNBA All-Star voting into record-breaking territory

Caitlin Clark isn’t just leading the league in votes; she’s helping the WNBA break records left and right. Let’s rewind for a second. Back in 2023, before Clark even entered the league, the first round of fan voting only brought in a total of 422,173 votes across the 30-player list. This year, Clark alone has 515,993 votes. 

And she’s not the only one smashing those numbers. Napheesa Collier has 484,758 and Aliyah Boston has 446,961 – both higher than last year’s entire vote total. To put it in perspective, A’ja Wilson was the top vote-getter in 2023’s first round with just 35,968. This year, Kayla McBride got 44,378, and she’s ranked 40th. 

That’s how big the jump is.

Even looking at last year during Clark’s rookie season, the difference is wild. She got 216,427 votes in the first round in 2024, which was second behind Wilson. That number wouldn’t even crack the top 10 this year. Clark herself summed it up best, “It seems like it’s certainly gonna set some sort of record for amount of votes cast compared to last year if I’m not mistaken… We’re on track for that, which just shows how much engagement we’re driving across the league for all different sorts of players and teams.”

And she’s right. Right now, 19 players already have more than 100,000 votes. In 2023, not a single player crossed that mark. If the pace continues, multiple players could even hit the million-vote milestone – something that used to take the top 20 players combined. As Clark said, “That’s exactly what the league needs… people excited about that type of stuff and wanting to be involved and feeling like their vote really counts.”

All-Star voting ends June 28. Once all the votes are in, the top guards and frontcourt players, based on a combined fan, media, and player score, will be named starters. The league’s 13 head coaches will then pick the reserves. So, whether your favorite makes the cut or not, one thing’s for sure: this All-Star Game is already making history.