While she remains a darling of the fans and the media, players in the WNBA still believe that Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has more growing to do in her game.
On Thursday, the WNBA revealed the results of the voting for the starters for the All-Star Game.
Clark’s name was included among the starters, but was listed third among guards based on her weighted score.
While Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings and rookie Olivia Miles of the Minnesota Lynx have clearly had better seasons, Clark’s fellow players had a very low view of her abilities compared to other elite stars.
Bueckers was ranked first by both fans and the players while coming second in the media vote. Miles came first in that media vote – being ranked fifth by the fans and third by the players.
Clark followed behind them – coming second in the fan vote and third in the media vote. But in the eyes of the players who voted, Clark was only the 11th best guard in the league.
Players in the WNBA ranked Caitlin Clark the 11th best guard in the league per All-Star voting
Paige Bueckers (L) and Olivia Miles (R) led the player and media votes respectively
Despite the snub, Clark still finished third in All-Star voting and was named a starter
Clark was still named a starter based on how the weighting system works for the All-Star Game. Fan votes are given a weight of 50 percent while the media and player votes each get 25 percent.
Throughout the season, Clark has been criticized for her frequent complaints and attitude towards officials in her third season of play.
She’s also been put under the microscope for her poor defense that hasn’t shown much improvement from her rookie season. Clark also leads the league in turnovers and is on-pace for having the second-most turnovers in a WNBA season (Clark set the record her rookie season).
But this announcement also comes in the aftermath of an incident with Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas that has led to another debate over how the league handles officiating and fouls when it comes to the Fever superstar.
Clark’s teammate, Kelsey Mitchell, was named the fourth and final starter among the guards who were voted in.
Another Fever star, Aliyah Boston, was voted the fourth-best frontcourt player and was named a starter. She came first in the fan vote among frontcourt players.
Reigning MVP A’ja Wilson was voted the top frontcourt player with Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty coming in second.
They were followed by Jessica Shepard of the Wings, Boston, Gabby Williams of the Golden State Valkyries and Natasha Howard of the Lynx.
