Latest news with #AllStarVoting
Yahoo
15 hours ago
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Fever guard Sophie Cunningham's All-Star voting position has WNBA world surprised
The post Fever guard Sophie Cunningham's All-Star voting position has WNBA world surprised appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Caitlin Clark Effect is undeniable and extends wider than many people even realize. If it was not clear by now, the early returns for WNBA All-Star voting, as conveyed by ESPN's Alexa Philippou, emphatically reinforce the notion that she is already the face of the league. The Indiana Fever star leads all players with 515,993 votes and is also giving some of her teammates a boost as well. Advertisement Indy boasts plenty of talent aside from Clark — Aliyah Boston is in third and Kelsey Mitchell occupies seventh place right now — but there are multiple supplemental contributors who are undoubtedly much higher on the list because of their association with the 23-year-old guard, or because of what they did on her behalf. Look no further than Sophie Cunningham, the woman who Fever fans have recently dubbed 'The Enforcer.' She currently has the 23rd-most votes, ranking above multi-time All-Stars and plenty of players who are simply having a superior season. Cunningham is averaging 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per contest while shooting 38.2 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from 3-point range. The veteran is a valuable role player who works hard on defense, but she is obviously not All-Star material at this present time. Her massive spike in popularity can best be attributed to the physical aggression she unleashed on Connecticut Sun guard Jacy Sheldon, who had multiple heated exchanges with Clark in Tuesday night's game. With Indiana leading by double-digits late in the fourth quarter, Cunningham halted a Sheldon drive by wrapping around her neck area and bringing her down to the floor. A struggle ensued after the whistle, and No. 8 earned instant folk-hero status. Advertisement Sun head coach Rachid Meziane denounced the foul as 'stupid,' but it is clear many people, especially Caitlin Clark and Fever fans, appreciated the retaliation. Though, when such things like All-Star voting are impacted by viral moments and non-performance related factors, backlash is inevitable. 'The people voting for Sophie Cunningham to be an all-star need a serious evaluation,' @citimsc8 argued on X. 'Sophie Cunningham placing higher than Skylar Diggins, Jackie Young, and Rhyne Howard?' @ChristanWNBA posted, bewildered by the latest results. 'Clearly we aren't watching the same games.' Are things getting out of hand? The former Missouri star's potential All-Star candidacy is a polarizing topic, to say the least, but she is hardly the only player who is benefiting from the aforementioned Caitlin Clark Effect. Lexie Hull is enjoying a breakout campaign, shooting 56.3 percent from 3-point land (2.7 attempts per game), but she does not have the present or past credentials to justify a top-10 slot in the All-Star voting. Advertisement Kate Martin, Clark's Iowa teammate, is in the top-35 despite playing only 16.0 minutes per contest with the Golden State Valkyries. Indiana forward Damiris Dantas is logging less than 12 minutes a night and is raking in more votes than future Hall of Famers Tina Charles and Brittney Griner. The Fever are clearly the nucleus of the WNBA, regardless of their .500 record. Clark is a gold mine, as all those around her can attest, but Cunningham's ferocity is obviously giving her an abundance of standalone appeal as far as the public is concerned. The fan vote is worth only 50 percent, but if the former second-round draft pick continues to resonate with Indianapolis, she could possibly find herself in Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the 2025 All-Star Game. Related: Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski clowning Fever's Caitlin Clark for traveling Related: Big3 parts ways with influencer who posted Caitlin Clark highlights during in-game action
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sophie Cunningham says her flagrant foul, fight vs. Sun was byproduct of WNBA refs not protecting Caitlin Clark
The WNBA announced the first fan returns in All-Star voting this season on Friday, and four Indiana Fever players clocked in as top-10 fan vote-getters. But another Fever player a bit lower on that list is skyrocketing in popularity right now. Advertisement That's 28-year-old guard Sophie Cunningham, otherwise known as Caitlin Clark's bodyguard. Ahead of the Fever's Sunday afternoon road matchup against the Las Vegas Aces, Cunningham doubled down on her decision to back up Clark with a flagrant 2 foul, and subsequent viral melee, in Tuesday's win over the Connecticut Sun. "I'm not focused on the extracurricular activities, and you know what, during that, it was just part of the game," Cunningham said. "I think the refs had a lot to do with that. It was a build up for a couple years now of them just not protecting the star player of the WNBA. So, at the end of the day, I'm going to protect my teammates." Advertisement Cunningham emphasized: "That's what I do. I'm a team player." Sun guard Jacy Sheldon, who has had a competitive back-and-forth with Clark since their Big Ten days, poked Clark in the eye midway through the third quarter. Clark reacted and got into a shoving match with Sheldon. That's when Sun center Tina Charles got between the two backcourt players. But Sun guard Marina Mabrey crashed the scrum and knocked Clark down to the hardwood. Mabrey wasn't ejected. Instead, she was given a technical foul. So were Clark and Charles. Sheldon's foul was upgraded to a flagrant 1. Advertisement On Wednesday, the WNBA upgraded Mabrey's foul to a flagrant 2, meaning she would have been ejected had it been called that way during the game. It wasn't the first time this season the Fever have felt like they've been disrespected by officials. Clark, in particular, has repeatedly not gotten calls she, her teammates or her coaches feel she deserves. Cunningham took matters into her own hands in the final minute of the fourth quarter. She pulled down a driving Sheldon by the head. In response, Sheldon and Sun guard Lindsay Allen stormed Cunningham and pushed her back into fans along the baseline. Cunningham retaliated by grabbing Sheldon's hair as the scuffle grew. Cunningham was ejected because of the flagrant 2 foul. Sheldon and Allen both got technicals for fighting and were tossed as well. Advertisement The league later gave Cunningham an additional fine, on top of the standard flagrant 2 foul fine, for participating in the fight. As Cunningham was ejected, she received heaps of support from Fever fans. That support has continued, not only from Indiana but from sports fans everywhere. Her jersey sold out in the Fever team store. And she's gained hundreds of thousands of followers across Instagram and TikTok. "It's cool, its funny what people are kind of attracted to," Cunningham said Saturday. "I'm just trying to keep the main thing the main thing, and that's basketball, trying to win games, sticking up for my teammates, and that's all part of it."
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA Rival Points Out Caitlin Clark's Influence in All-Star Voting
WNBA Rival Points Out Caitlin Clark's Influence in All-Star Voting originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has been one of the main reasons the WNBA has seen a major increase in attention over the past couple of seasons. Since going No. 1 overall in the 2024 draft, TV ratings, ticket sales and jersey sales have all climbed, especially for the Fever and their players. Advertisement With the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game set for July 19 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, fan voting is already in full swing. On Friday, the league released its first update on the top vote-getters. Out of the top 40 players listed, eight of them came from the Fever, including four in the top 10. Here is where each of them stands: (1) Caitlin Clark, Guard - 515,993 (3) Aliyah Boston, Frontcourt - 446,961 (7) Kelsey Mitchell, Guard - 277,664 (9) Lexie Hull, Guard - 217,438 (16) Natasha Howard, Frontcourt - 158,331 (23) Sophie Cunningham, Guard - 95,116 (30) Damiris Dantas, Frontcourt - 72,262 (38) DeWanna Bonner, Frontcourt - 56,775 Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates after scoring a 3-pointer.© Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams noticed how the Fever had eight of the top 40 vote-getters and discussed it on her Twitch stream, "studbudz." "They whole starting five was on that list," Williams said. "Even folks that came off they bench was on that list, bro. No cap. That's crazy, bro, but that really show you the influence that Caitlin Clark got." Advertisement "No, facts," her teammate Natisha Hiedeman replied. "Her influence is insane," Williams said. "And people try to say that... Let's just state the facts, bro," Hiedeman said. "You can't even hate on it cause it's like you got motion," Williams said. While this update gives a good sense of who might make the All-Star game, it's important to remember that it's just the first update, and fan voting only accounts for 50% of the final vote. The other half is split evenly between current players and a media panel. Once the league has announced the players who make it, the WNBA will host a draft to determine the rosters. The results of the draft will be revealed on July 8. Advertisement Related: Caitlin Clark Sends Strong Two-Word Message to Aliyah Boston After Fever Loss Related: Dawn Staley Doesn't Hold Back About Caitlin Clark This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mercury Send Blunt Message After Potential WNBA All-Star Snub
Mercury Send Blunt Message After Potential WNBA All-Star Snub originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Phoenix Mercury saw their top offensive playmaker and second-leading scorer place just 21st in the WNBA All-Star polls during the first round of fan voting. It's safe to say the team isn't pleased with that level of support. Advertisement The team's X account sent a not-so-subtle message to try and get more All-Star votes in the ballot box for forward Alyssa Thomas. "Alyssa Thomas is leading the league in assists per game (9.0)," the team wrote in the post. "Alyssa Thomas is leading the league in total assists (81) although she missed 5 games. "Alyssa Thomas is shooting 53% from the field. "This is an All-Star. "This is Mercury Basketball." The team then included a link to cast a WNBA All-Star ballot. Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Entering Saturday, Thomas was averaging three times more assists than anyone else on her team. She was also posting 14.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. Advertisement Then in a 107-86 victory against the Chicago Sky on Saturday, Thomas registered 11 points with eight assists and three rebounds. Despite all that production, though, Thomas wasn't among the top 20 players in the first round of WNBA All-Star voting. Thomas was second for the Mercury with 96,141 votes. Fellow forward Satou Sabally led all Phoenix players and placed 12th across the entire league with 175,611 votes. Fan voting will account for 50% of what determines the WNBA All-Star rosters. Players and the media will combine to account for the other 50%. Fan voters may cast a ballot once a day until the end of voting on June 28. June 27 will be the final day votes can cast two ballots. Advertisement The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will be at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 19. The game will tip off at 8:30 pm ET and air on ABC. Related: Angel Reese Is Going Viral for One Play During Sky-Mercury Game This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sophie Cunningham says her flagrant foul, fight vs. Sun was byproduct of WNBA refs not protecting Caitlin Clark
The WNBA announced the first fan returns in All-Star voting this season on Friday, and four Indiana Fever players clocked in as top-10 fan vote-getters so far. But another Fever player a bit lower on that list is skyrocketing in popularity right now. Advertisement That's 28-year-old guard Sophie Cunningham, otherwise known as Caitlin Clark's bodyguard. Ahead of the Fever's Sunday afternoon road matchup against the Las Vegas Aces, Cunningham doubled down on her decision to back up Clark with a flagrant 2 foul, and subsequent viral melee, in Tuesday's win over the Connecticut Sun. "I'm not focused on the extracurricular activities, and you know what, during that, it was just part of the game," Cunningham said. "I think the refs had a lot to do with that. It was a build up for a couple years now of them just not protecting the star player of the WNBA. So, at the end of the day, I'm going to protect my teammates." Advertisement Cunningham emphasized: "That's what I do. I'm a team player." Sun guard Jacy Sheldon, who has had a competitive back-and-forth with Clark since their Big Ten days, poked Clark in the eye midway through the third quarter. Clark reacted, and her and Sheldon shoved each other. That's when Sun center Tina Charles got between the two backcourt players. But Sun guard Marina Mabrey crashed the scrum and knocked Clark down to the hardwood. Mabrey wasn't ejected. Instead, she was given a technical foul. So were Clark and Charles. Sheldon's foul was upgraded to a flagrant 1. On Wednesday, the WNBA upgraded Mabrey's foul to a flagrant 2, meaning she would have been ejected had it been called that way during the game. Advertisement It wasn't the first time this season the Fever have been on the wrong side of controversial officiating. Clark, in particular, has repeatedly not gotten calls she, her teammates or her coaches feels she deserves. Cunningham took matters into her own hands in the final minute of the fourth quarter. She pulled down a driving Sheldon by the head. In response, Sheldon and Sun guard Lindsay Allen stormed Cunningham and pushed her back into fans along the baseline. Cunningham retaliated by grabbing Sheldon's hair as the scuffle grew. Cunningham was ejected because of the flagrant 2 foul. Sheldon and Allen both got technicals for fighting and were tossed as well. Advertisement The league later gave Cunningham an additional fine, on top of the standard flagrant 2 foul fine, for participating in the fight. As Cunningham was ejected, she received heaps of support from Fever fans. That support has continued, not only from Indiana but from sports fans everywhere. Her jersey sold out in the Fever team store. And she's gained several hundred thousands of followers across Instagram and TikTok. "It's cool, its funny what people are kind of attracted to," Cunningham said Saturday. "I'm just trying to keep the main thing the main thing, and that's basketball, trying to win games, sticking up for my teammates, and that's all part of it."
