Caitlin Clark is heading to her third straight WNBA All-Star Game as a starter. That part is settled. But how she got there — specifically how her peers voted during the players-only ballot — has sparked a firestorm that even a Hall of Famer couldn’t ignore.
Candace Parker didn’t hold back. During a recent episode of Post Moves with Candace Parker & Aliyah Boston, the former MVP unloaded on WNBA players who ranked Clark as the 11th best guard in the league during the player voting portion.
Parker went in
“I think people need to look at themselves in the mirror and realize, man you got some insecurities,” Parker said. “If you’re sitting down and putting Caitlin Clark as the 11th best guard, y’all need to go to a therapist and figure out what childhood issues you have. Cause if you’re sitting there and looking at yourself in the mirror and putting her as the 11th best guard … this is crazy.”
It wasn’t a soft critique. Parker, a two-time WNBA champion and one of the most respected voices in the game, essentially questioned the judgment and motives of the players who cast those votes. And she did it on a platform where her co-host is Aliyah Boston, Clark’s teammate on the Indiana Fever. So the message landed with extra weight.
The numbers don’t lie
Clark is currently third in the WNBA in scoring at 21.2 points per game. She’s second in assists with 8.2. She’s third in made three-pointers per game at 2.6. This is despite dealing with a back injury that has kept her out of the last few games. For reference, those are legitimate MVP-level numbers in any season.
The 11th best guard? That would put her behind backups and role players who haven’t come close to producing at that level. And it’s not like Clark is some unproven rookie anymore. She entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in 2024, won Rookie of the Year, and was on track for an even bigger 2025 before injuries slowed her down.
The fan vote and media vote pulled Clark into a starter spot anyway. But the player vote revealed a divide that’s been simmering for a while now. Some of it is probably competitive resentment. Some of it might be something else. Parker didn’t leave much room for ambiguity about what she thinks the root cause is.
What happens next
Clark’s back injury is the bigger concern for the Fever right now. She’s been sidelined and there’s no clear timeline for her return. But the All-Star conversation isn’t going away. Parker’s comments are already circulating across social media and sports talk shows, and they’re forcing a conversation the league hasn’t always wanted to have publicly.
Players voting against a superstar out of spite or politics isn’t new. But having someone like Parker call it out by name — and suggest therapy might be in order — is rare. She didn’t attack any individual. She didn’t have to. The voting results did enough damage on their own.
For now, Clark gets the start and the spotlight. But the message from Parker is clear: if you’re voting with your feelings instead of your eyes, you might want to ask yourself why.
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