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The WNBA is on fire.
The WNBA is on fire. Caitlin Clark’s arrival in the league, paired with unprecedented interest in women’s basketball in general, has led to more attention than the WNBA has ever had before. Ratings are up 183 percent, social media is buzzing about moments on a nightly basis, and now All Star voting is in — with astounding results.
Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, the Indiana Fever’s 1-2 punch led all players in voting, but there was a huge trickle down effect throughout the league.
Over 700,000 people voted for Clark, with Boston garnering over 600,000 votes. This came after the 2023 WNBA All Star game saw A’Ja Wilson win the fan vote with 95,680. It’s over a 700 percent increase in voting, with Wilson herself getting over six times them number of votes she did a year ago — and that was only good enough to finish third.
Now, obviously there’s some pretty massive fan tilt happening here, as there is in all fan voting. Clark and Boston are 16th and 26th in scoring respectively, while the likes of Arike Ogunbowale, Kahleah Copper, and Napheesa Collier have been lighting up the league without garnering near the amount of attention.
Nobody is complaining though, even with Clark and Fever fans wrecking the vote. Ultimately everyone who should be playing in the All Star game is, and it’s going to lead to a fascinating scenario where Clark is playing alongside her college and now WNBA rival Angel Reese.
What is the 2024 WNBA All Star game format?
With this being an Olympic year the WNBA is changing up the format of the game. Instead of being a player draft, this year’s game will put the WNBA All-Stars up against those selected to represent Team USA at the Olympic Games. There’s definitely some crossover here, but it’s led to there being very different rosters than we’ve seen in the past.
We’re yet to know the starting lineups for each team, but here’s who made the rosters for the game on July 20.
WNBA All-Stars
F DeWanna Bonner, Connecticut Sun
F Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever
G Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
G Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream
F Dearica Hamby, Los Angeles Sparks
F Brionna Jones, Connecticut Sun
C Jonquel Jones, New York Liberty
G Kayla McBride, Minnesota Lynx
G Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever
G Arika Ogunbowale, Dallas Wings
F Nneka Ogwumike, Seattle Storm
F Angel Reese, Chicago Sky
Team USA
F Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx
G Kahleah Copper, Phoenix Mercury
G Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas Aces
C Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury
G Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty
G Jewell Lloyd, Seattle Storm
G Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces
F Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
G Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury
F Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun
F A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
G Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces
These are both good rosters, but goodness Team USA is out of control. The team already has the in-built chemistry of FOUR of the Aces’ starting five, and then they’re adding ludicrous talent like Collier, Copper, Stewart and Ionescu on top of it. There isn’t really a planet in which the WNBA team can hang with Team USA, but it’s still going to be fascinating to watch on July 20.
Full WNBA All-Star Weekend schedule
Friday, July 19: WNBA Three-Point Contest, WNBA Skills Competition — 6 p.m. ET, ESPN
Saturday, July 20: WNBA vs. Team USA All-Star Game — 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
