Rookie Paige Bueckers Lands in Surprising Spot for Early WNBA All-Star Voting

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated Jun 20, 2025 1:58 PM ET

You can probably guess who earned the most WNBA All-Star fan votes in the first returns for this year's class.

But beyond sharpshooting second-year Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark, plenty of talented players have received major support.

Last year, Clark and her then-fellow rookie Angel Reese, a power forward for the Chicago Sky and Clark's longtime NCAA rival, became the first rookie tandem to be named All-Stars in a decade.

Ultimately, 12 players make the cut — plus injury replacements, when needed.

So does this year's rookie phenom Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings stand a chance of earning an All-Star berth in her first pro season? The 23-year-old guard was part of Clark and Reese's starry high school recruiting class, but stayed at Connecticut for a fifth season of collegiate eligibility.

Like Clark, Bueckers was a highly touted No. 1 pick in her draft, and like Clark, she has seen her game instantly translate to the next level.

ESPN's Alexa Philippou has revealed the first batch of fan vote totals.

Clark does rank first, with a whopping 515,993 fan votes.

Early returns for WNBA All-Star fan voting are in: pic.twitter.com/Fy4y2l8IMC
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) June 20, 2025

Minnesota Lynx superstar forward Napheesa Collier, who's the early MVP favorite this year, is right behind Clark with 484,758 fan votes. Clark's two-time All-Star Fever teammate Aliyah Boston has notched the third-most votes, with 446,961.

Last year's MVP, Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson, ranks fourth with 394,600 fan votes. 2024 Finals MVP Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty has earned 367,819 votes, good for fifth-most.

Bueckers' 312,920 is good for the sixth-best, ahead of established superstars like Liberty shooting guard Sabrina Ionescu (234,684) and Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum (204,845). Several other Fever players, understandably, have earned an inordinate amount of votes.

It's an impressive sign that Bueckers is already so resonant with fans. The 6-footer is averaging 17.7 points on .472/.345/.829 shooting splits, 5.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds a night, although her impressive numbers haven't led to a lot of wins yet. Dallas is 2-11 on the season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: