Caitlin Clark downplays hype after outranking Angel Reese, A'ja Wilson & others in All-Star voting: "That's not the reason you play"

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark reacted to leading the first returns of the 2025 WNBA All-Star fan voting. The reigning Rookie of the Year downplayed the hype, outranking other WNBA stars such as reigning league MVP A’ja Wilson and last year’s ROTY runner-up Angel Reese.

On Saturday, a reporter asked Clark about her reaction to being the leading vote-getter in the first returns released by the WNBA on Thursday.

"It is what it is," Clark said. "People get so hyped up over that, but you know that's not why you play the game. I think it's a fun way to get the fans involved and really passionate about All-Star. Gets them excited, makes them feel involved. It's a fun aspect to have.

"But you know, for as a player, that's not the reason you play. ... But it is cool and it's also cool for me to see how much love my teammates also get. I think we have four in the top 10. So, whether who ends up being an All-Star or not, it's still cool to see those type of love you get from the fans."

Caitlin Clark led the first returns of the fan voting with 515,993 votes. She was followed by Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier (484,758). Wilson was fourth (394,600), while Reese ranked 13th (173,363).

Indiana had eight players in the top 40, with four of them in the top 10: Clark, Aliyah Boston (third), Kelsey Mitchell (seventh) and Lexie Hull (ninth). Other Fever players on the list were Natasha Howard (16th), Sophie Cunningham (23rd), Damiris Dantas (30th) and DeWanna Bonner (38th).

Caitlin Clark on what is shaping up to be a historic All-Star voting: "Exactly what the league needs"

The first returns of 2025 fan voting point toward what could be a historic All-Star vote.

Caitlin Clark's 216,427 votes in the first returns in 2024 would have ranked just 10th this year. Furthermore, Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride, ranked 40th in the 2025 first-round returns (44,378), received more votes than the top vote-getter in 2023, A’ja Wilson, who had just 35,968 votes in the first fan returns.

In the same media session on Saturday, Clark was asked about the increased number of voters this year.

"It seems like it's certainly gonna set some sort of record for amount of votes cast compared to last year, if I'm not mistaken," Clark said. "I feel like we're on track for that, which just shows how much engagement we're driving across the league for all different sorts of players and teams.

"That's exactly what the league needs is people excited about that type of stuff and wanting to be involved and feeling like their vote really counts and feeling like they can make an impact on the All-Star Game. It's really exciting to see and hopefully, as we continue to go here year to year to year, it just continues to grow."

Caitlin Clark’s Fever will host this year’s All-Star Weekend July 18-19. The All-Star Game is scheduled for the second day of the festivities.