A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark lead early WNBA All-Star voting
By Issy Ronald, CNN
(CNN) — Two-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson and rookie superstar Caitlin Clark lead the early fan voting for the WNBA All-Star Game, the league announced on Friday.
Held on July 20, the WNBA All-Star Game has already sold out the Footprint Center in Phoenix as fans clamor to watch the league’s best face off against one another.
A combination of fan, player, media and coach voting will determine who takes part and, after the first round of fan voting, Wilson leads with 217,773 votes and Clark trails just behind with 216,427.
Wilson, a five-time All-Star already, is the current league leader in scoring and rebounding this season, averaging 27.9 points and 11.3 rebounds each game. She produced another scintillating performance on Friday, scoring 26 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Las Vegas Aces to an 85-74 victory over the WNBA-best Connecticut Sun.
Clark joined the WNBA this year with much fanfare and anticipation following her record-breaking college basketball career and has brought much attention to the league with her presence helping to sell out arenas and set record TV viewing figures. Currently, she ranks 16th for scoring with 16.3 points per game and third for assists with 6.2 a game.
Her Indiana Fever endured a difficult start to the season with a 0-8 run but secured their fourth consecutive win on Friday, defeating the Atlanta Dream 91-79 in front of a record 17,575 fans at the State Farm Arena. NaLyssa Smith led the way with a team-high 21 points as well as nine rebounds while Caitlin Clark added 16 points and seven assists.
Clark’s teammate Aliyah Boston, who was named Rookie of the Year in 2023, is in third place in the fan voting while Angel Reese is in seventh.
The All-Stars already selected for the USA Basketball Women’s National Team will face off against the WNBA All-Stars, who will be voted in by the fans, coaches, players and media.
Once the voting concludes, players in the top 10 who haven’t been selected for the USA will join the roster of the WNBA All-Stars team. The remaining spots in the 12-player roster will then be filled by a selection of the next 36 highest vote-getters, as chosen by the 12 WNBA head coaches who cannot vote for their own players.
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