Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark earned a 2026 WNBA All-Star starting nod, but her peers didn't exactly co-sign it.
Clark finished 11th among guards in the player analysis, despite ranking second in the fan ballot and third among media voters.
WNBA Players Rank Caitlin Clark 11th in All-Star Voting
The Fever star is averaging 20.5 points per game, sixth in the league, along with 8.2 assists per game. That's good for second overall.
85 of the WNBA's 180 players cast All-Star ballots, with each voter selecting four guards. That turnout, combined with the tendency for players to vote along team lines, likely widened the gap between Clark's production and her ranking.
Candace Parker Reacts to WNBA Guard Analysis
The reaction to the WNBA All-Star player-voted results was immediate, though. Three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker called the 11th-place finish "crazy" on her Post Moves podcast and pointed to player insecurities.
"You’ve got some insecurities if you’re sitting down and putting Caitlin Clark as the 11th-best guard. Y’all need to go to a therapist," Parker said earlier this week.
The player vote carries 25% of the total All-Star weight, while fan and media support pushed Clark through to the starting lineup. She'll feature in the WNBA All-Star game alongside Fever teammates Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell on July 25th in Chicago.
The Fever settled the score last night, as Kelsey Mitchell’s 29 points lifted No. 7 Indiana over No. 12 Phoenix 92-89. The Fever vs Mercury result capped a physical regular-season series that dominated headlines beyond play on the court.
Aliyah Boston added 21 points after sitting out the Fever’s loss to No. 9 LA, while Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper paced the Mercury with 22 each.
Fever star Caitlin Clark rested a lingering back injury on the bench, while tensions around Thomas’s June 24th flagrant foul appeared to remain at bay.
Republican Lawmakers Threaten Action Over Caitlin Clark Physical Play
Last month’s incident did escalate off the court, as 11 Republican lawmakers sent a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert demanding “accountability” for “repeated acts of physical violence” against Clark.
Led by Texas’s August Pfluger, the letter warns that the league could face governmental scrutiny over civil rights violations, giving Engelbert until July 24th to respond to questions about officiating, player action, and harassment protections.
Indiana said neither the team nor Clark spoke with the committee or knew about the letter, reiterating that player safety remains its priority.
Phoenix now gears up to face No. 1 Las Vegas tomorrow at 6 PM ET (Peacock), before Indiana has a go at the Aces on Sunday at 9 PM ET (NBC).
Stephanie White is keeping her focus on the court. When asked about this week's congressional letter demanding the WNBA address "physical play" against Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever coach declined to engage.
"We're not affiliated with those groups," White said of the Republican lawmakers behind the letter. "We try to keep the main thing the main thing and focus on the things we can control."
Why Did Congress Send the WNBA a Letter About Caitlin Clark?
The letter, sent by 11 Republican members of Congress to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, seeks answers by the end of the month. It points specifically to a June 24th Fever vs Mercury game when Phoenix forward Alyssa Thomas's contact with Clark's throat went uncalled.
Officials missed the foul during the game, but the league later upgraded it to a Flagrant 2 and suspended Thomas for one game. Thomas has since revealed she's received death threats over the issue, while both Stephanie White and Clark condemned online harassment.
Clark missed two games with a back injury after the contest. She returned Wednesday on limited minutes against the LA Sparks, before sitting out Thursday's rematch in Phoenix as a precaution.
Kelsey Mitchell Leads Indiana Scoring in Fever vs Mercury Win
Even without Clark, the Fever took the season series with a come-from-behind 92-89 win over the Mercury on Thursday.
Kelsey Mitchell's layup with 10.1 seconds left sealed the victory, ending the game with 29 points while Aliyah Boston added 21 of her own.
The WNBA’s hottest storyline is getting another chapter, as No. 12 Phoenix hosts No. 7 Indiana for tonight’s third and final Fever vs Mercury regular-season matchup — weeks after tensions boiled over in Indianapolis.
The bad blood hinges on Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas’s June 24th no-call foul on Fever star Caitlin Clark, with an official review charging Thomas with a Flagrant 2 days later.
Thomas called the on-court tussle a “complete accident,” and revealed she received death threats over it, while both Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts and Indiana coach Stephanie White condemned the harassment.
Clark, however, will sit this one out, after playing 16 minutes against No. 9 LA last night while dealing with a lingering back injury.
Clark will swap places with teammate Aliyah Boston, after the center watched from the sidelines as the Sparks secured the 106-92 win behind veteran Nneka Ogwumike’s 24 points.
“I feel good,” Clark assured reporters. “It’s tough to come back on a back-to-back, so I won't be available [in Phoenix] solely because of minute restriction and my progression.”
Indiana visits Phoenix tonight at 10 PM ET, live on Prime.
Caitlin Clark returned to action Wednesday night in a Fever vs. Sparks matchup, but a strict minutes cap kept her from settling into the game. The Indiana guard had missed two games after a back injury flared up during a physical contest against the Phoenix Mercury in June.
For her return in LA, head coach Stephanie White held her to just 16 minutes on the court, played in roughly three-minute shifts.
How Clark's Restricted Minutes Impacted the Fever's Offense
Clark finished with nine points on 4-of-12 shooting, four rebounds, three assists, and four turnovers. Between shifts, she left the bench to keep her back loose.
"It's really, really hard to get into a flow," Clark said after the performance. "I didn't get to have a feel for the game as I usually do."
White explained the choppy playing time as a strategy for keeping her star player healthy in the long run.
"It's going to take some time to build endurance," she said. "She hadn't really been able to practice all that much, either. It's never easy when you're reintegrating after an injury. She's going to continue to be better."
Without Clark and center Aliyah Boston (leg), the Indiana Fever leaned on veteran guard Kelsey Mitchell, who led the team with 29 points. Yet the defense could not contain a balanced Sparks attack that shot 51% and topped 100 points in the 106-92 win.
What's Clark's Injury Status Against the Phoenix Mercury?
Clark will sit out Thursday's game at Phoenix to manage her recovery. She hopes to push closer to 25 minutes when the Fever visit Las Vegas on Sunday. She noted her body "feels great" and she "took a win" from experiencing a game environment in LA.
The Fever meets the Mercury tonight at 10 PM ET, live on Prime.
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark told media on Tuesday that she’s hopeful for a return to the court tonight against the LA Sparks, after missing the team’s last two games with a lingering back injury.
Clark anticipates being on a minutes restriction, as the Fever prepare for a midweek back-to-back. They have another game against the Phoenix Mercury slated for Thursday.
“Feeling great, everything’s been good up until this point,” Clark said. “Hopefully have another great day of practice and be ready for tomorrow.”
While they’ll be happy to see their star return, Indiana have held their own in Clark’s short absence. The Fever defeated both the Sparks and the Aces last week to rise to fifth in the WNBA standings.
Kelsey Mitchell leads the team in scoring with 21.9 points per game, followed closely by Clark’s 21.2 points per game, as Indiana leads the WNBA in points per game as a team.
“Sometimes it’s hard when you don’t get to play the game, and takes some mental resiliency,” said Clark. “Just pouring into my teammates the best I can.”
Where to Watch Fever vs. Sparks Game Tonight
Indiana faces the Sparks tonight at 10 PM ET, live on USA.
Geno Auriemma weighed in on the Caitlin Clark discourse, pushing back against the narrative that hard fouls on the Indiana Fever guard are a reflection of something bigger than just basketball.
Geno Auriemma Downplays Caitlin Clark Hard Fouls
Speaking on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast, the UConn head coach and 12-time NCAA champion dismissed the notion that on-court physicality against Clark amounts to a cultural divide.
"Every first-round draft pick gets fouled hard," Auriemma said. He acknowledged that some players carry "personal animosities" toward Clark. But the broader WNBA controversy, in his view, is inflated by fan obsession rather than anything happening on the floor.
Auriemma pointed to how intense fandom has turned routine physicality into a national cause, adding that on-court confrontations "are not a referendum on America."
The Alyssa Thomas Incident That Fueled the WNBA Controversy
His comments follow a recent incident involving Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas. Thomas received a one-game suspension for a flagrant foul against Clark. She later revealed she had received death threats from fans for the physical play.
Both Clark and Fever head coach Stephanie White condemned the harassment against the veteran forward. Clark issued a statement calling for the WNBA to do better when it comes to protecting players. She also called the sustained focus on a single play "a disservice to the rest of our league."
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark addressed the issue of online harassment against WNBA players on Friday. Her comments came after Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas said she has been fielding death threats since committing a flagrant foul on Clark two weeks ago.
"The harassment, the hate — none of that is okay," Clark said. "There should never be question of character, I've always stood up here and said that. And that's truly what I believe, that's how I was raised."
Clark Pushes WNBA to Invest In Officiating, Player Safety
"I think for the league as a whole, there's been so much more toxicity, racism, homophobia, straight up hateful nonsense, and it is absolutely unacceptable," Fever head coach Stephanie White added on Wednesday.
Clark also took aim at the WNBA’s refereeing standards and how they impact player safety. She touched on the lack of league resources to systemically improve officiating. While WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert addressed the on-court incident between Thomas and Clark, the Indiana guard thinks more should be done.
"Overall, the league just has to do better. We have to invest in those areas," she said. "Technology can get better; we can treat the referees a little bit better, pay them like they're full-time employees."
The Indiana Fever will be well represented at the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game, as the trio of Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell headlined the announced WNBA All-Star starters on Thursday.
Minnesota and Dallas also earned multiple starting bids. Lynx standouts Natasha Howard and Olivia Miles got All-Star nods, joined by Wings talents Paige Bueckers and Jessica Shepard.
Aces forward A’ja Wilson, Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, and Valkyries forward Gabby Williams round out the group of 10 All-Stars.
Reaction to the 2026 WNBA All-Star Voting Results Snubs
With starters voted in by the fans, media, and players, some All-Star processes came under fire after last week’s returns. Reports of low player participation followed reactions to the night's biggest snubs.
"It’s shocking, but not surprising," Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts said of Kelsey Plum missing the top ten. The LA guard currently sits second in the league in points per game, despite nursing an ankle injury.
"For us not to have anyone was just a slap in the face, but they're not going to say anything. I am," said Atlanta forward Angel Reese, on behalf of her Dream teammates Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray.
The league’s coaches will next pick the 2026 All-Star reserves. That announcement comes on Tuesday.
The Indiana Fever beat the Las Vegas Aces 84-68 on Sunday, picking up the franchise's first regular-season win in Las Vegas. The milestone victory came without help from guard Caitlin Clark, who sat out her third straight Fever game with a back injury.
But the Aces were shorthanded too. Four-time MVP A'ja Wilson missed her third consecutive game with an ankle issue. Despite both absences, the Fever (12-8) found their rhythm early.
Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, and Fever Roster Step Up Against Aces
In Clark's place, guard Kelsey Mitchell led Indiana with 27 points on 7-of-18 shooting and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line.
Aliyah Boston added 18 points and 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double, connecting on three 3-pointers. Her second-quarter spin move past Brianna Turner quickly became one of the night's top viral moments.
AB spin move 🌪️ pic.twitter.com/Nzd3xqNQEX
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) July 5, 2026
The Fever vs. Aces score was tight at halftime, with Indiana clinging to a 42-41 lead. But the Fever pulled away with a 26-14 third-quarter run as Las Vegas posted its lowest-scoring game of the season, hitting just 21% from beyond the arc.
When Will Caitlin Clark and A'ja Wilson Return From Injury?
For fans tracking WNBA injury reports, both Clark and Wilson should return to the court soon. Clark is back at practice and remains day-to-day on the Fever's injury report.
When it comes to Wilson, coach Becky Hammon said the star center likely would have played over the weekend if the matchup were a postseason game.
Up next for Indiana is a game against the LA Sparks on Wednesday at 10 PM ET on USA Network. The Aces, meanwhile, take on the Portland Fire on Thursday at 10 PM ET on WNBA League Pass.