The Indiana Fever may still be searching for consistency in the 2026 WNBA season. But one thing fans have been certain about is who they want to see under the brightest lights. For the first time in franchise history, Indiana will send three starters – Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell – to the WNBA All-Star Game. Yet while Clark was the second-most voted-for guard by fans and the third-most voted-for guard by the media, she came in at No. 11 in the player vote. And analyst Annie Costabile believes “personal feelings” had everything to do with it.
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“There is no way Caitlin Clark is the 11th best guard in the league,” Costabile said in the latest episode of No Offseason. “That’s just factually incorrect based on statistics, and obviously, where the Fever are at. So I would just say to the players, y’all let your personal feelings factor into this decision, clearly. I think that’s questionable, to say the least.”
Caitlin Clark is currently averaging her career-best 21.2 points per game, which makes her tied for the fourth position in the most points per game sector of the league. She is also averaging 8.2 assists, making her the second-overall season leader.
These numbers are exactly why Costabile believes placing Clark at the 11th position is just “factually incorrect.” Clark ranked behind Paige Bueckers, Rhyne Howard, Olivia Miles, Sonia Citron, Marina Mabrey, Allisha Gray, Kelsey Mitchell, and three other players who were not even on the list. Hence, Clark’s weighted score turned out to be 4.5, eventually putting her behind both Bueckers and Miles to third in the All-Star voting.
Now, what others point out to justify her standing is her defensive gaps and turnover rate. In the 17 games she has played so far, Clark is averaging 4.6 TO per game and has already picked up five technical fouls. However, it’s worth noting that she has significantly cut down on her turnovers and is posting her career-best average, alongside other career-high totals in field goal percentage (43.0) and 3-point percentage (34.4).
But whether ‘personal feelings’ truly influenced the players’ voting may never be known outside the locker rooms. What is certain, however, is that the rankings ultimately didn’t keep her from where she’ll actually be on July 25.