Aliyah Boston Tops WNBA All-Star Vote With 683,996, Ahead of Caitlin Clark

Q: With league popularity soaring, why did WNBA All-Star fan voting numbers see a significant drop from 2025?

The most likely explanation is not a collapse in interest, but a change in how votes were cast or counted, combined with a more dispersed fan base. The numbers point that way. In the first 2026 returns, the top 40 players drew more than two million fewer votes than the top 40 did at the same stage in 2025, even though the league’s visibility has continued to rise and it has added expansion teams. Caitlin Clark’s first-round total, for example, fell from 515,993 in 2025 to 253,602 in 2026. That kind of broad decline across nearly the entire ballot is hard to square with the WNBA’s overall growth. Reporting tied to the voting returns suggests the drop “across the board” may reflect a procedural shift rather than a sudden loss of fan enthusiasm. The league did not immediately clarify whether there had been any change in the voting process or tabulation, leaving that as the strongest unresolved factor. There is also a basketball explanation at the margins. Clark’s breakout effect in 2025 created an extraordinary surge of attention, and some of that may have normalized in 2026 as newer fans spread their support among more stars, including A’ja Wilson, Paige Bueckers, Aliyah Boston and others. With more recognizable players and two new teams, votes may simply be less concentrated. So the evidence suggests the drop was driven mainly by voting mechanics or counting differences, with some additional “leveling off” after last year’s exceptional spike.

Q: Can the league's top scorer A'ja Wilson still start the All-Star game despite trailing in fan votes?

Yes. A’ja Wilson can still start the WNBA All-Star Game even though she is currently third in fan voting. Fan voting counts for only 50% of the starter formula. The other half comes from current players and a media panel, each worth 25%. Starters are chosen by weighted rank within position groups, not by fan totals alone, and fan voting is used only as a tiebreaker if players finish with identical scores. That means Wilson’s path remains strong, especially because she is likely to rate very well with players and media. She leads the league in scoring at 25.1 points per game and in blocks at 2.1, credentials that could lift her overall weighted score above players who are ahead of her in fan returns. Her position also matters. Starters are selected by position, with four guards and six frontcourt players making the starting group. Wilson, Aliyah Boston and Breanna Stewart are all frontcourt candidates, so Wilson does not need to beat Caitlin Clark or Paige Bueckers, who are guards, to start. Based on the current returns, Wilson is still very much in contention for a starting spot. Trailing Boston in fan votes does not eliminate her, because strong player and media support could still put her among the top frontcourt starters.

Q: Why did the WNBA suddenly scrap its player-captain system, and who will the new honorary GMs be?

The WNBA has not publicly given a detailed competitive reason beyond saying the 2026 All-Star Game is being revamped as part of the league’s 30th-anniversary celebration. What is clear is that the league eliminated the old format in which the top two fan vote-getters automatically became captains and drafted the teams. The timing drew scrutiny because the change was announced just as Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark were leading fan voting, fueling speculation among fans that the move was designed to avoid having player-captains this year. No evidence provided by the league in the materials confirms that theory. Under the new setup, the All-Star Game will still feature drafted teams, but the drafting will be handled by two honorary general managers rather than active players. The league has said those honorary GMs will be “two league legends.” As of the information available here, the WNBA had not yet named them. The announcement indicated the honorary GMs were expected to be revealed on Sunday, June 28. So the answer is that the system was officially scrapped as part of a 30th-season format change, while the identities of the new honorary GMs had not yet been announced in the available reporting.

3 articles · Updated · ESPN · Jun 24

683,996 votes put Indiana's Aliyah Boston atop the second 2026 WNBA All-Star fan returns, with teammate Caitlin Clark close behind at 670,510.
Clark ranks third in the league in scoring at 21.3 points per game and second in assists at 8.2, while Boston averages 16.6 points and 8.6 rebounds.
659,057 votes left A'ja Wilson in third place despite leading the WNBA in scoring at 25.1 points and blocks at 2.1, followed by Paige Bueckers at 640,026 and Breanna Stewart at 566,161.
July 25 at Chicago's United Center is the target date for the All-Star Game, with fans supplying 50% of the starter vote and players and media 25% each before coaches pick 12 reserves.