The WNBA All-Star Vote Counts Don't Make Sense - It's Nearly Impossible Caitlin Clark Is Not Number One - Joe Hoft

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The WNBA All-Star Vote Counts Don’t Make Sense – It’s Nearly Impossible Caitlin Clark Is Not Number One

I’ve done or led 200-300 audits around the world – a multi-million dollar fraud audit in Japan, compliance audits in China, Australia, Hong Kong, and other counties, financial audits of multi-billion dollar entities around the globe, IT audits too.

The results of the WNBA All-Star Vote Counts make no sense.  Something is up and I believe that the numbers are tainted.1. Lack of transparency

Any time information is being withheld, there are causes for concern.  The WNBA All-Star votes were not updated and reported on a regular basis or daily basis and this allowed for room to fudge the numbers.  We were provided the final numbers seemingly out of nowhere and somehow Caitlin Clark was not in first.

ADVERTISEMENT2. Here is an excellent post about why the final results make no sense.

The WNBA fan vote does not match the marketplace.

That is the problem.

In 2025, Caitlin Clark had 1,293,526 All-Star fan votes.

Paige Bueckers had 805,471.

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Now we are supposed to believe Paige jumped to 1,045,051 while Caitlin dropped to 1,023,321.

That means Paige gained nearly 30%.

Caitlin dropped roughly 21%.

Based on what?

Not TV ratings.

Caitlin Clark is still the WNBA’s television engine. Her games are still the ones that move the needle. Paige games do not come close to creating that same national pull unless Caitlin is involved.

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Not attendance.

Caitlin is still the road show. Caitlin is still the arena mover. Caitlin is still the player teams build ticket campaigns around. Dallas has not replaced Indiana as the WNBA’s attendance engine.

Not jersey sales.

Public jersey rankings had Caitlin Clark No. 1 and Sophie Cunningham No. 2. There is no public evidence Paige passed Caitlin in merchandise demand.

Not social gravity.

Caitlin is still the conversation.

Caitlin is still the controversy.

Caitlin is still the player every broadcast, columnist, debate show, fanbase, and opponent revolves around.

And not basketball production either.

Caitlin is still the superior player on paper: elite scoring, league-best playmaking, historic creation, deep shooting gravity, and the kind of offensive responsibility Paige simply does not carry at the same level.

So where did this massive voting swing come from?

A nearly 30% increase for Paige and a 21% decrease for Caitlin should leave fingerprints.

Higher ratings.

Bigger crowds.

More merchandise demand.

A clear marketplace shift.

A visible change in popularity.

But the public evidence points the other way.

The marketplace still says Caitlin.

The ratings still say Caitlin.

The attendance still says Caitlin.

The jerseys still say Caitlin.

The basketball still says Caitlin.

But somehow the fan vote says Paige.

That is statistically indefensible without transparency.

Show the data.

Show the process.

Show the audit trail.

Because right now, this looks like the WNBA trying to manufacture a popularity shift the actual marketplace does not support.

3. Who is Paige Bueckers?4. Her production is best ever, but the player voting puts Clark out the top ten. 

Does jealousy have anything to do with it?  This too makes no sense.

5. Clark keeps giving and the WNBA keeps taking away.6. The WNBA hasn’t helped with it’s negative actions against Clark.

Despite  setting a tradition for setting team captains for the all-star game based on top two vote getters, the WNBA decided this year not to do this.  Instead the league decided to bring in former players to be team captains. Many believe the W did this to prevent Clark being a captain.

7. Rather than protect the women players in the league, the W protects the perpetrator.

When Caitlin Clark was assaulted during a game, the commissioner came out and attacked Clark’s fans as racist and ignored Clark being pummelled during a game.

BTW – Last year’s captains have both been injured and are not currently playing after being injured by Alyssa Thomas.

8. The WNBA left Clark off of the 30 year poster – an insult to its fans and reality.In summary – It is very possible the All-star vote results are tampered with based on all the WNBA has done to destroy Caitlin Clark and her fans.

(I’d be happy to audit the results of the vote but this league has proven it is not interested in any transparency concerning its actions against its best player ever.)