Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier chosen as captains of WNBA All-Star Game by fan vote
The Indiana Fever star, who is sidelined with a groin strain, is averaging 18.2 points and a career-high 8.9 assists. She also led the fan voting last season, her rookie year, but the All-Star format was the U.S. Olympic team playing against a select group of WNBA stars so no captains were chosen. She learned she was captain in a phone call from WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
Minnesota's Collier leads the league in scoring at a career-best 24.5 points and is fourth in rebounding at 8.4 per game. Her daughter surprised her wearing a shirt saying 'Mama you're a All-Star,' as she scooted into the locker room with former Lynx great Sylvia Fowles right behind her to let Collier know the news.
Advertisement
Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (left) leads the WNBA in scoring, averaging 24.5 points per game.
Richard W. Rodriguez/Associated Press
'It's really cool,' Collier said to reporters before warming up for a game Sunday night 'I went from never being a starter to captain.'
This will be her fifth All-Star appearance.
Before squaring off in Indianapolis on July 19, Clark and the Fever will face Collier and the Lynx on Tuesday in the Commissioner's Cup final.
Advertisement
The 10 starters were selected from across the WNBA without regard to conference affiliation. Current players and a media panel joined fans in selecting the All-Star starters. Fans voting accounted for 50 percent, while the players vote and the media choices each account for 25 percent.
The pair will draft their fellow starters from a group that will be revealed on Monday. After the starters are announced, the league's head coaches will choose the 13 reserves by voting for three guards, five frontcourt players, and four from either position. Coaches can't vote for players from their own teams. The 12 reserves will be revealed next Sunday.
'Obviously I'm going to try and get my teammates on my team, that's the goal,' Clark said. 'Once they come out with whoever has made it and whoever hasn't, I'll get to pick and choose. I don't know how it works.'
The two All-Star captains will then draft their respective rosters by selecting first from the remaining eight players in the pool of starters and then from the pool of 12 reserves.
Clark and Collier also led the initial fan voting, with Indiana's Aliyah Boston in third. Boston finished second last season behind Clark in the fan vote.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Steph Curry's Live Reaction to Kate Martin's Strong Play for Valkyries
Steph Curry's Live Reaction to Kate Martin's Strong Play for Valkyries originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry finally made his long-awaited Ballhalla debut on Sunday night. After previously stating his intent to come to as many Golden State Valkyries games as he can at Chase Center, the former back-to-back MVP finally lived up to his promise on Sunday in the Valkyries' home game against the Seattle Storm. Advertisement Curry came to support the Valkyries in their inaugural WNBA season, and the four-time NBA champion was not left disappointed. Golden State ended up blowing out Seattle, 84-57, to improve to 9-7 on the season. Curry looked like he was invested in the ballgame, too. At one point in the third quarter, the cameras caught Curry's reaction to Kate Martin's strong play for the Valkyries. Martin hit a contested three from the wing before forcing a turnover in the succeeding play that led to another Golden State deuce. Curry was clearly loving what he was seeing. Curry was seen with his hand up and cheering for the Valkyries as they went into a timeout. The Storm was forced to stop the game after Golden State had amassed a 17-point lead with less than four minutes remaining in the third quarter. Advertisement Martin came up big off the bench for the Valkyries, finishing with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and two triples in 26 minutes of action. Golden State Valkyries guard Kate Martin (20) dribbles against the Las Vegas Yamashita-Imagn Images For his part, Curry was happy to see Golden State secure a big win in his first-ever Valkyries game. This very likely won't be his last, either. Related: Warriors Player Turns Heads After Taunting Caitlin Clark During Fever-Valkyries Game Related: Steph Curry's Wife Ayesha Curry Turns Heads With New Bikini Photos Related: Exciting Golden State Warriors Announcement Made on Monday This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Angel Reese Admits to Being 'Terrible' Before Making WNBA History
Angel Reese Admits to Being 'Terrible' Before Making WNBA History originally appeared on Athlon Sports. For Angel Reese here in Year 2 of her WNBA career, this is what fans and observers have been waiting for. For much of the early part of the season, Reese was wayward and lacking in confidence in her shot, and while her rebounding remained an obvious strength, her inability to make shots was shaking her game elsewhere. Advertisement But on Sunday in a national television game in Los Angeles against the Sparks, with the Sky badly in need of a win, Reese had her best game of the year, scoring 24 points with 16 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Sky to a 92-85 win. Reese was 10-for-19 from the field in the game, marking the most field goals she has had in a game this season. More than that, she made WNBA history by logging 15-plus rebounds for the fourth straight game, the first player in league history to accomplish that feat. But after the win, in her walk-off interview with ESPN, Reese acknowledged that 2025 was a big-time struggle early on. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) waits for play to resume in the second quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images "I always say to myself before every game, God doesn't give to me any storm that I can't handle," she said. "The first eight games, I played terrible and I wasn't coming up for my team. So I try to find other ways to come up for my team. I had seven assists today and that's the thing that matters to me. Getting the ball to my teammates because I know they are making shots and they did that tonight." Advertisement Reese averaged 10.1 points on 35.8% shooting in the first eight games. Her last four games have been a different story. She has averaged 17.3 points in those games, on 26-for-58 shooting (44.8%). She has also averaged 17.5 rebounds in those games. Most important the Sky got the win, even without star center Kamilla Cardoso, who left the team to play for Brazil for the coming week. Reserve Elizabeth Williams got her first start of the season in her place, and posted 12 points with nine rebounds, and a game-high plus-20 in the box score. "My biggest one is opportunity," Reese said when asked what she took from the win. "When opportunity comes, you maximize it. I think that everybody comes off the bench and steps up, and does it and executes--I mean, we miss Mill, we will be glad to have her back, but I think that we came in and we played really, really hard and we really wanted it." This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Everything Angel Reese Said after Beating Los Angeles
Everything Angel Reese Said after Beating Los Angeles originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Former LSU star, Angel Reese, delivered what could be considered one of her finest performances as a professional on Sunday. Following the game, Angel shared her thoughts on how she played. Advertisement On getting more opportunities near the basket Angel: Yeah, when Kamilla is not here, I try to take advantage of it as much as I can because she's a great post player. We let her work when she works and I think this off season, I worked on me trying to be able to drive to the basket and get to the cup and finishing. I went through a storm for the first eight games where I couldn't finish. It was frustrating but I trusted my work and my teammates trusted my work. Finally coming through and finishing efficiently. On taking control of the fourth quarter Angel: I think we just wanted it more. I think we build off each other's energy…Everybody stepped up tonight and played their role…I'm really happy. Kudos to E [Elizabeth Williams], she's done a great job stepping up and being in that role…She brings the right energy every single day, she's super positive, she knows a lot and she's experienced. On second chance opportunities Angel: I think a lot of times when I got the rebound last year I would go right back up [and have three people around me] and now we have amazing shooters where I can just kick it out, they make the three and that's why I have seven assists. It just leads to points. When you get rebounds, it's never a negative. When somebody can't stop you on the boards, that leads to more points for us. I look at it as a positive. Everybody looks at it as a negative but I look at it as a positive. I only had four O-boards so it wasn't just 'Mebounds' tonight. Advertisement On her defensive efforts Angel: I love defense…I take it very personally…I take pride in my defense. Defense leads to offense. On her stats today [only four WNBA players have achieved this type of game- two were L.A. Sparks legends Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker whose number was retired today] Angel: Yeah, I'm just trusting my work. I put my head down every day and just grind. That's all I do. I don't do it for cameras, I don't do it for publicity…I talk to Lisa all the time. And congratulations to Candace, obviously everything that she's done. I watched her as a little girl. It means a lot to me to be able to be named with such great players. Advertisement On her brother Julian being signed by the Los Angeles Lakers Angel: I'm so proud of my brother…it makes me super emotional just because I know his journey. And obviously, the work isn't done yet…So I'm really happy for him…I know my mom is really proud and I really hope he gets the opportunity to play in the league because I know he deserves it. Related: Angel Reese and Livvy Dunne React to Hailey Van Lith Swimsuit Photo Shoot Related: Livvy Dunne Posts New Revealing 'Beach-nastics' Video and Talks about her Relationship with Paul Skenes Related: Livvy Dunne Shares Revealing Swimsuit Photos Related: Livvy Dunne Wants to Make 'Hot Girl Fishing' a Thing This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
