Paige Bueckers broke a WNBA record and officially left Caitlin Clark behind in All-Star voting history. In her rookie season in the professional women’s basketball league, the 23-year-old standout outshined the Indiana Fever star in a key voting category.
Just like in the NBA, the WNBA All-Star voting process includes three components: the players’ vote, the media vote, and the fans’ vote—which counts for 50% of the final result. This structure can create dramatic shifts in rankings, especially when rookies make a strong impact.
Analysts are drawing comparisons between Clark and Bueckers
Caitlin Clark earned the title of WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2024 and secured her spot as an All-Star for the Indiana Fever. She received an impressive 1,293,526 fan votes, surpassing Paige Bueckers’ 805,471. However, Bueckers made history in her own way. In her first professional season, she broke Clark’s previous rookie record of 700,735 fan votes. With over 100,000 more votes than Clark’s debut total, Bueckers now holds the record for the most fan votes ever received by a WNBA rookie.
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Her outstanding performance on the court supports this popularity. Bueckers currently averages 1.8 steals per game (SPG), 18.4 points per game (PPG), 4.3 rebounds per game (RPG), and 5.8 assists per game (APG). Thanks to these strong numbers, the league named her WNBA Rookie of the Month in June.
Even more striking, Bueckers outranked Clark in the overall player voting, where Clark landed just ninth among her peers. This outcome disappointed many of her fans and pointed to possible tensions or reservations within the league regarding Clark’s presence.
With her record-breaking debut, Paige Bueckers has positioned herself as a rising force in the WNBA, challenging even the most talked-about stars and proving she’s here to stay.