Angel Reese is once again flexing her natural star power as early returns on WNBA All-Star voting reaffirm that she is a top 10 most popular player in the WNBA already and is competing against giants of the league and corporate darling Caitlin Clark.
The last time Reese and Clark met, the game had all of the drama, passion and ratings that the WNBA could ask for as it was the most watched WNBA game in 23 years. The two groundbreakers meet for a third time as pros on Sunday, June 22. Clark is 2-0 so far.
Angel Reese Is Seventh In WNBA All-Star Voting
The former LSU star is currently seventh in the first returns of the fan voting for the All-star game. No. 7 was also Reese’s draft position.
A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Breanna Stewart, Arike Ogunbowale, and Sabrina Ionescu are the only players ahead of her in voting.
The fact that Aliyah Boston is third overall in the entire league in voting and as a post player is directly influenced by Clark’s popularity and the fact that Boston is her running mate. It’s a strange dynamic because she isn’t more popular than Angel Reese but is considered a better player overall at this point, especially offensively.
“Chi Barbie” leads all rookies in double-doubles, which is a reflection of her versatility as a player and her willingness to do the dirty work.
In fact, she set the WNBA rookie record for most consecutive double-doubles by recording her seventh straight Thursday against the Dallas Wings. It broke the mark she shared with Tina Charles (2010) and Cindy Brown (1998).
Angel Reese Is Only Rookie Averaging Double-Double
Reese is averaging 12.4 points and 10.8 rebounds per game this season. On Thursday night she had her best performance of the season and best individual game of her young WNBA career.
She helped the Chicago Sky defeat the Dallas Wings 83-72 to get their fifth win of the season, finishing with 16 points, 18 rebounds, and three assists.
Reese was second on the team in scoring. Chennedy Carter and Marina Mabrey both dropped 19 points.
In the Sky’s first 14 games, Reese has only had one game in which she didn’t at least have double digits in either points or rebounds. Reese also leads the WNBA in offensive rebounds. So she’s a unique and special player in her own right. A winning player.
WNBA All-Star Voting Leaderboard: A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark Lead
On Friday, the WNBA unveiled the leaderboard in its first returns of fan voting.
Clark came in second with 216,427 votes, almost 100,000 more than Kelsey Plum. A’ja Wilson of the back-to-back champion Las Vegas Aces had 217,773 votes on first tally – edging out Clark by just over 1,300 votes.
There’s still more than enough time for Clark to catch Wilson. Clark continues to be undefeated in bringing crowds out.
Despite the Atlanta Dream’s losing record, they welcomed the largest home crowd in franchise history in a matchup against Clark and the Fever. Atlanta had to move the game to State Farm Arena, as they brought in 17,575 fans, per Front Office Sports on X.
Clark finished the game with 16 points and seven assists.
There’s plenty of time for Reese to move up the list as well.
Here’s the full voting, via Meghan L. Hall:
Angel Reese Has 3 Million Instagram Followers To Draw Votes From
If she actually made a passionate plea to her 3 million IG followers to bum rush the polls, she might be able to make a run into the top 5. Many of her fans do not particularly follow or care for the WNBA but have been captivated by Reese’s handle of the social media landscape, her raw honesty and her relatability as a child of Baltimore.
Naturally, the U.S. Olympians are the most popular players, but this season CC and Reese have thrown a wrench into that. Reese is also fourth overall in non-Olympic players eligible for Team WNBA.
Expect to see Angel Reese and Caitlin in the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday, July 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. It’ll take place in Phoenix, home of the Mercury. Both Reese and Clark are rookies trying to help elevate losing teams into future contenders. Clark’s Fever is 7-10 and Reese’s Sky sits at 5-9.
