A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark lead WNBA All-Star fan vote
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — A’ja Wilson leads Caitlin Clark by just over a thousand votes in early fan voting for the WNBA All-Star Game, the league announced Friday.
Clark’s Indiana teammate Aliyah Boston is third, about 40,000 votes behind the leaders.
Wilson is having an incredible season, averaging 27.9 points and 11.3 rebounds. She has 217,773 votes. Clark is right behind with 216,427.
The Las Vegas Aces star received the most fan votes last season, but that total was only 95,860.
New York’s Breanna Stewart is fourth and Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale is fifth. Chicago’s Angel Reese is seventh in the voting and is the only other rookie in the top 10. Fellow first-year players Cameron Brink and Kate Martin were just outside the top 10 in 11th and 12th.
Sabrina Ionescu of New York (sixth), Kelsey Plum of Las Vegas (eighth), Napheesa Collier of Minnesota (ninth) and Dearica Hamby of Los Angeles (10th) round out the first 10.
The All-Star Game will be played on July 20 in Phoenix and will pit WNBA All-Stars against the U.S. Olympic team.
All-Stars are picked by a combination of fan vote (50%), current WNBA players (25%) and media (25%).
After voting closes, the top 10 vote-getters will be named as All-Star Game participants, with any players competing for the U.S. on the Olympic team staying on their team. The remainder of the WNBA team will be chosen by the league’s coaches from a pool of the next 36 highest vote-getters, which must include 15 post players and nine guards.
Coaches aren’t allowed to vote for their own players.
The final WNBA All-Star Game rosters will be announced on July 2.
___
