Caitlin Clark made big-time history once more as she received the most All-Star votes in WNBA history. As a result, the Indiana Fever superstar is named captain of her team for the All-Star on July 19, sparking the league’s commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, to congratulate Clark personally.
In reference, Caitlin Clark got 1,293,526 votes as of Sunday, a value the league had never seen before. Following her is the Minnesota Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier, who received 1,176,020 votes and will be the captain of her squad. Collier, a veteran, has five All-Star selections so far.
Engelbert gave a short message to Clark. In a clip shared by the Fever’s X/Twitter account, she called head coach Stephanie White to greet Clark.
“Caitlin, I just want to personally congratulate you on being named captain for the 2025 WNBA All-Star team,” Engelbert said.
“Caitlin, I just want to personally congratulate you on being named captain for the 2025 WNBA All-Star team.”@WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert surprised Caitlin Clark with a call to announce her as a captain in the #WNBAAllStar2025 Game ❤️👏 pic.twitter.com/HzRd5CifQb
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 29, 2025
Engelbert also teased the upcoming Fever–Lynx showdown, prompting a cheeky response from Clark:
“Yeah, we about to get that dub Cathy,” Clark said.
Caitlin Clark is currently sidelined due to a groin injury sustained in June 24’s match against the Seattle Storm, a game that happens to be one of the former Iowa standout’s worst performances of the season with six points, two rebounds, and nine assists. In the final seconds of that game, she had a concerning fall after clashing with the Storm’s Erica Wheeler.
Moreover, this wasn’t the first time that Clark had an injury. She was also stricken with a left quad injury early this May that rendered her out for three weeks. However, her particular return from the court saw her drop 32 points against the NY Liberty. Indiana Fever fans could hope their superstar guard’s recovery would be as electrifying as that moment.
Cathy Engelbert once dubbed Caitlin Clark the “most popular athlete of America”
Speaking on May 15’s episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert praised Caitlin Clark by highlighting her momentous impact on the league.
“It is a balance, but she’s a generational talent. No league is ever about one player, but in this case, Caitlin brought tens of millions of new viewers into the W. And there’s no denying that impact,” Engelbert said.
“You want to balance making sure that you’re also promoting your other stars, like an A’ja Wilson, like a Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier … that’s why this year is sustain and gain. Sustain the momentum we had last year and gain even more new viewers.”
While the Caitlin Clark effect isn’t as felt due to her ongoing injury, fans hope she’ll return for Tuesday’s match against Minnesota for the Commissioner Cup’s Final.
For more sports content:
Follow us @HardwoodHeroics for your NBA and college basketball reading fix. You can reach out to Dan Agulto through email at papadanph@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest sports news, click here!
Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
