It was no surprise when Caitlin Clark topped the initial WNBA All-Star fan voting, earning an impressive 515,993 votes. Close behind was Minnesota Lynx MVP contender Napheesa Collier, who drew 484,758 votes. While there was still time for the final results to be determined, Clark’s shooting slump during the voting period raised questions about whether her momentum would hold.

Her chances took another hit when she was ruled out indefinitely with a quad injury, prompting speculation about how that might impact her standing. Despite these concerns, fans remained firmly behind one of the league’s brightest stars. When voting closed on Friday, it was clear that Clark still had strong support, not only from fans but also from players and media members, who together made up 50 percent of the final vote.

The Indiana Fever has since confirmed that Caitlin Clark has earned her second WNBA All-Star selection. She will lead the Eastern Conference as captain, facing off against Napheesa Collier, who will serve as the opposing captain. Clark finished with a league-leading 1,293,526 votes, while Collier followed with 1,176,020. The two stars will draft their teams live on WNBA Countdown on July 8 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, ahead of the matchup between the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty. Coaches will be responsible for selecting the reserve players.

There are questions over Clark’s selection as she has had a stop-start season with her injuries and has not played her best basketball. She is still the second-best assist in the league with 8.9 assists per game. Between her quad and groin issues, she has only appeared in 60% of the Fever’s games. She’s averaging 18.2 points, five rebounds, and 8.9 assists, but shooting 29.5% from 3-point range. While her selection remains contentious, there is no denying that her selection for the WNBA All-Star for unanimous. 

Her vote count of almost 1.3 million votes is more than the top 30 vote getters for the 2023 All-Star game combined. And it’s not a small gap either, as the 2023 game combined received 1.17 million votes, which is almost 200,000 fewer. Clark will also become the first in Indiana Fever history to captain at the WNBA All-Star game.

“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,” Clark said earlier this month when the first round of voting returns were released. The league certainly achieved that, further showing the booming fanfare in recent seasons. She alone has been responsible for much of the league’s expansion. 

The captain of the West, Napheesa Collier, is an early WNBA MVP favorite. She has been a woman on a mission after that heartbreaking 2024 finals loss and has led the Minnesota Lynx to the top spot of the WNBA table. She has contributed to both ends of the court, while having career high career-highs in scoring, assists, blocks, and field goal percentage, and is in the top-10 in the league in almost all of those aspects.

Is WNBA All-Star Voting Serious At All?

The WNBA All-Star voting process has sparked considerable debate this year as the league’s growing popularity brings with it a wave of both enthusiasm and controversy. Central to the uproar is the simplicity of the voting system. Fans could vote using just an email address, without any form of two-step verification. This vulnerability opened the door for exploitation, as Caitlin Clark’s devoted fanbase allegedly used public email IDs belonging to prominent media figures to flood the system with votes in her favor.

Critics were quick to label the All-Star process a mere popularity contest. While that criticism is not new, it reflects a deeper tension between fan engagement and competitive integrity. The All-Star Game has always been a celebration of fan support, offering a space where enthusiasm and visibility often take precedence over pure performance metrics. That said, the WNBA has implemented mechanisms to balance things out. While fan votes account for 50 percent, the remaining half is evenly split between media members and fellow players. This helps ensure that the final selections still reflect a mix of popularity and peer recognition.

Clark’s immense popularity undeniably influenced the ballot beyond her candidacy. Several of her Indiana Fever teammates received a significant boost in votes, including some who come off the bench and likely wouldn’t have otherwise landed on the radar. This led to frustration among rival fans, but players themselves have taken a more understanding view.

Minnesota Lynx standouts Natisha Hiedeman and Courtney Williams addressed the situation during a recent livestream. “The Fever’s whole starting five was on that list. The whole starting five. Even folks who came off their bench were on that list, bro. That’s crazy, bro,” Williams said, clearly surprised. 

“But that really shows you the influence that Caitlin Clark got. Her influence is insane, bro.” She went on to note, “You got folks coming off of their bench that’s in that top 40 of fan voting, bro. Like, her influence is crazy. You can’t even hate on it.” Hiedeman chimed in, saying of Clark, “You got motion.” Williams agreed with a laugh, adding, “Like, real deal motion.”

Their remarks underscore a key point. Players recognize and respect the power of star influence, and Clark remains the lone holder of that crown in the W. There are others with surging popularity, none of them touch Clark as of now. While the process may skew toward fan-favorite players, those same players are also driving engagement and visibility for the league as a whole.

In the end, the WNBA All-Star voting process is not perfect, but it reflects the reality of modern sports culture. Popularity will always play a role in fan-driven events, and in this case, Caitlin Clark’s massive following is bringing new eyes to the league. That kind of attention can be polarizing, but it is also vital for growth. As long as the league continues to blend fan input with expert and player evaluations, the All-Star Game can remain a celebration of both performance and passion.