The Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx are facing off Tuesday in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship. And now, fittingly, each team’s brightest star is captaining this year’s All-Star Game.
Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Lynx forward Napheesa Collier earned that distinction for the first time in their WNBA careers Sunday.
They did so by reeling in the most fan votes.
Clark received 1,293,526 fan votes this year, and Collier wasn’t too far behind with 1,176,020.
The W adopted a captains format for the All-Star Game in 2018, ditching the traditional Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference model. But last year, as was the case in 2021, the league took a one-year break from naming captains and instead rolled out a Team WNBA vs. Team USA format ahead of the Summer Olympics.
The All-Star Game’s remaining eight starters will be announced Monday night during a segment of ESPN’s free-agency show, which starts at 7 p.m.
WNBA players and a media panel joined fans in selecting the 10 All-Star starters, without regard to conference affiliation. Here’s the breakdown: Fans accounted for 50% of the vote, WNBA players represented 25% and so did the chosen media panel.
The four guards and six frontcourt players with the best “score” made up by averaging the weighted rank from the fan, player and media votes are the All-Star Game starters.
The league’s head coaches will select the 12 reserves, again regardless of conference affiliation, by submitting a ballot of three guards, five frontcourt players and four players of any position. Coaches may not vote for players on their own teams, though.
The names of the reserves will be announced July 6. Two days later, on July 8, Clark and Collier will draft their respective rosters, first picking from the remaining pool of starters and then dipping into the collection of reserves.
Clark has missed the Fever’s last two games with a groin strain, but, when healthy, she’s shown why she was last season’s WNBA Rookie of the Year and why she can be a game-changing sensation. The Iowa product, who also led All-Star fan voting in 2024, is averaging 18.2 points and a career-high 8.9 assists per game.
She kicked off the season with a 20-10-10 triple-double, one of her four performances so far this year where she’s netted at least four 3s. But she’s missed seven games due to injury, the first five resulting from a left quad strain.
Although in contention for the Commissioner’s Cup, Clark’s Fever are just 8-8. Collier’s Lynx, on the other hand, are off to a league-best 13-2 record.
Collier, now a five-time All-Star, was runner-up for MVP last season and could very well claim the honor this time around. Despite missing two games with a back injury earlier this month, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year returned to action Friday and stuffed the stat sheet with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks.
She’s averaging a career-high 24.5 points per game and is on pace to win her first scoring title. Additionally, she’s posting 8.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 assists per contest while shooting 51.7% from the field.
The All-Star Game will be played July 19 at the Fever’s Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
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