WNBA standout Caitlin Clark expressed her enthusiasm for participating in the league’s All-Star game. However, she voiced a single concern about playing alongside fellow rookie sensation Angel Reese.
Clark set a record for the number of fan votes for the mid-season classic that features the best and most popular players in the world.
This year, the WNBA — or the “W” as it’s often called — is pairing the players with the most votes against the women chosen to play in the Paris Olympics. Since neither Clark nor Reese were chosen for the Olympic squad, which is being called Team USA, they will both be on Team WNBA.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been [Reese’s] teammate before, even at USA Basketball,” Clark said July 2 after her Indiana Fever were roundly defeated by the two-time defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces, 88-69.
Clark said she has reservations about playing on the same team as her collegiate rival Reese.
“I know people will be really excited about it, but I hope it doesn’t take away from everyone else,” Clark said during the postgame press conference, according to the Daily Mail. “This is a huge accomplishment for everybody on Team USA and everyone on Team WNBA. They all deserve the same praise. I don’t want it to take away from any of that and be the focal point of All-Star weekend because that’s not fair to them.”
Clark was the leading vote recipient with 700,735 while her Indiana Fever teammate Aliyah Boston came in second with 72,000 fewer votes. A’ja Wilson, universally considered the WNBA’s best player, was third behind Boston. Reese was fifth with 381,518 votes.
For perhaps the first time, Clark exhibited embarrassment publicly about the excessive amount of praise she’s being showered with in a league where there are many talented, and superior, players.
“Obviously, this is something that’s really hard to accomplish, so the best we can celebrate all of them will be great and just gonna obviously soak in the experience ’cause, like, you never know if you’re ever gonna be able to get back there and it’ll be fun for all of us,” Clark said.
