Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s All-Star voting position has WNBA world surprised

Fever veteran Sophie Cunningham vaults ahead of several accomplished players in latest WNBA All-Star voting results

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.

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 statusSun 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.

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.