Caitlin Clark ’11th-best guard’ controversy: Why WNBA voters received backlash for Fever star's ludicrous ranking

Caitlin Clark is an All-Star-caliber talent. Where she falls among the biggest active WNBA superstars is often a subject of debate, but if one thing's for certain, the Fever guard is one of the premier offensive engines across the league.

However, for many reasons, many outside of her own control, Clark has become a controversial figure, especially among her WNBA peers. From her foul controversies and complaints to referees to other pros appearing to take offense to the attention she brought to the WNBA as a rookie, Clark has often been wrapped up in some kind of off-the-court trouble. Fans may love her, but rivals not so much.

When the results from 2026 WNBA All-Star voting were publicly released, that was as apparent as ever. Clark was named an All-Star starter, yet the discrepancy between her popularity among fans and media vs. fellow WNBA players was significant.

Here's what to know about the "11th-best-guard" controversy that's surrounded Clark heading into the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game.

MORE: Full 2026 NBA All-Star rosters

Caitlin Clark '11th-best guard' controversy

For its All-Star voting, the WNBA maintains a process that needs some explanation. It's a weighted system between fan, media and player voting. Fans account for 50% of the final results, while players and media account for 25% each. After votes are tallied, the players are ranked by their position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups: fan votes, player votes and media votes. Each player’s "score" is calculated by averaging their weighted rank from the fans, players and media. From there, the four guards and six frontcourt players with the best scores are named starters. The WNBA's head coaches choose the 12 reserves.

With that context, Clark's results from the 2026 WNBA All-Star voting became controversial. It needs little explanation that Clark, averaging 21.0 points (fourth in the WNBA) and 7.9 assists (second in the WNBA) in 23 games this season, has easily been an All-Star-starter-caliber talent in 2026.

And while the voting resulted in Clark officially being named a starter, there was a significant discrepancy between her final "ranking" among fans, media and players.

Clark finished third in total voting for guards, earning a starting spot. However, fans had her ranked as the No. 2 guard and the media as the No. 3, while players' voting resulted in Clark finishing 11th.

Voting results for 2026 All-Star starters: pic.twitter.com/ztrznAUkAF

— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) July 2, 2026

It should be noted that the WNBA's process for player voting didn't necessary allow players to select Clark as the "11th-best-guard." Players were asked to vote for four guards and six frontcourt players. So, among guards, they only cast votes for their personal top-four picks.

An overall player ranking was then complied based on how many votes each guard received, but no one player made a list that put Clark 11th. She likely received votes in a few top-four spots on some ballots, but was left off others, putting her overall total at No. 11.

Technically, players didn't "vote Clark as the 11th-best-guard" — but the results from their voting put her at that spot.

MORE: Caitlin Clark's complete injury timeline from NCAA to WNBA 

What guards were voted ahead of Caitlin Clark?

There were 10 guards who finished above Clark in players' All-Star starter voting, but the WNBA only announced seven of them due to the nature of their release about voting results. Eleven total guards were listed by the WNBA in final starter voting results. Three of those players finished below Clark's No. 11 in players' results: Kelsey Plum (No. 12), Jackie Young (No. 14) and Azzi Fudd (No. 28).

Here are the seven known guards who finished above Clark in players' All-Star voting and their 2026 stats:

Players' Rank	Player	Team	2026 Stats
1	Paige Bueckers	Wings	20.9 PPG, 6.2 APG, 4.2 RPG
2	Rhyne Howard	Dream	17.6 PPG, 3.4 APG, 3.9 RPG
3	Olivia Miles	Wild	19.3 PPG, 6.0 APG, 4.7 RPG
T4	Sonia Citron	Mystics	17.2 PPG, 3.7 APG, 3.8 RPG
T4	Marina Mabrey	Tempo	21.0 PPG, 3.6 APG, 3.4 RPG
6	Allisha Gray	Dream	19.1 PPG, 2.3 APG, 3.2 RPG
7	Kelsey Mitchell	Fever	23.3 PPG, 2.7 APG, 1.7 RPG

MORE: Why Caitlin Clark declined 3-point contest invitation

WNBA guard voting response

Because Clark made it in as a starter anyway, there were no dire consequences of the players' lower vote. But it did stir up plenty of issues with fans and media within the WNBA news cycle, with many questioning why Clark's peers wouldn't recognize her talents.

Candace Parker was among the former WNBA stars to offer her take, saying players need to "look at themselves in the mirror" if they believed Clark was the 11th-best guard in the league.

— m!ch | luv u cc ☁️ (@clarkmode_) July 8, 2026

While the WNBA itself didn't address the controversy of the player voting results, plenty of other TV analysts and personalities chimed in on the debate. 

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— First Take (@FirstTake) July 10, 2026

"She's the number one shooter, distributor, play initiator, playmaker, and she's 11th... It's so petty."@colincowherd discusses Caitlin Clark being voted the 11th best guard by WNBA players pic.twitter.com/OMCqMXeck6

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) July 3, 2026

Who voted on WNBA guard rankings?

There are currently 180 active players in the WNBA, and for All-Star voting, all 180 are asked to fill out ballots. But that reportedly was not the case for the 2026 results.

ESPN reported that just 85 of the 180 players submitted their ballots for starters, which is less than half of the league. Some of those participation issues were "operational," with the Sparks saying they did not receive their ballots. It is not known which players did and did not vote.

"Players were sent ballots via email," the Sparks said in a statement to ESPN. "Some players indicated that they didn't receive the email or weren't aware of it until after the voting period had closed. That's something we take responsibility for as an organization, and we'll have a more robust process going forward."

Because of the lack of overall participation from players, only about half of the WNBA's players decided upon the 25% portion of their input into the All-Star starters.