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The rosters for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game are set after Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier drafted their teams on Tuesday. Clark had the first pick in the first round, which featured the starters, and selected her Indiana Fever teammate Aliyah Boston. Collier, meanwhile, had the first pick in the second round, which featured the reserves, and followed suit by adding her Minnesota Lynx teammate Courtney Williams
Trades were permitted once the draft was complete but neither Clark nor Collier were willing to part with any players on their rosters. They did, however, agree to trade coaches. Sandy Brondello will coach Team Clark, while Cheryl Reeve will coach Team Collier.
Clark and Collier were named captains for the All-Star Game by virtue of receiving the most fan votes. This was a record-setting year for fan voting, as Clark (1,293,526) and Collier (1,176,020) had the two highest vote totals in league history. In fact, both players received more votes by themselves this year than the top-30 players combined received in 2023 (1,171,708), the year before Clark was drafted.
2025 WNBA All-Star Game: Paige Bueckers joins Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier among 10 starters
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All-Star Weekend is set for June 18-19 in Indianapolis, with the Fever playing host for the first time in franchise history. The action will begin with the Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest on Friday, followed by the All-Star Game on Saturday.
Ahead of the festivities, here’s a look at the rosters (starters in bold):
Team Clark
Coach: Sandy Brondello, Liberty
Team Collier
Coach: Cheryl Reeve, Lynx
Now that the draft is complete, here are some key takeaways:
Collier sends a message
As Clark and Collier joined the program, there was a noticeable difference in their respective appearances. Clark was wearing a Fever shirt, but Collier was not wearing any Lynx gear. Instead, she had on a black shirt with a big “U” front and center. She was repping Unrivaled, the upstart 3-on-3 league she co-founded with Breanna Stewart, and which completed its inaugural season in March.
Collier continued to shout out Unrivaled throughout the draft. She mentioned drafting her Unrivaled teammates before talking about adding her Lynx teammates, and even made the “Hooty-hoo” call that her Lunar Owls teammates popularized earlier this year.
Breanna Stewart explains why players are ‘frustrated’ by WNBA’s initial proposal in critical CBA negotiations
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Collier, who is a vice president in the WNBPA, was making a clear statement as negotiations continue between the players and the WNBA on a new collective bargaining agreement. The initial conversations have not been fruitful, and it’s clear that Collier and Co. are trying to use their Unrivaled experience as a measuring stick.
“[It’s not a conflict of interest] yet,” Stewart told ESPN about her and Collier’s dual roles with the union and Unrivaled. “I think it’s just a little bit different. The things we can take from Unrivaled are the TV deal and how huge and incredible that was, but also the numbers behind it, like having three games per week. People were constantly paying attention to it. … Whether it’s Phee or me or someone else at Unrivaled, we understand that’s the standard now. That’s what we expect when we come back to the W.”
Reeve reunites with Collier
The coaches for the All-Star Game were determined by which WNBA teams had the best records through July 4. The coach of the WNBA team with the best record on that date would coach the All-Star team whose captain earned the most fan votes.
The Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty had the two best records in the league at that point, which meant that Cheryl Reeve and Sandy Brondello would coach in the All-Star Game. However, because the Lynx had the best record and Clark had the most votes, Reeve would coach Team Clark against Team Collier, led by her star player.
That arrangement just didn’t make a whole lot of sense, so it was not surprising at all when Clark and Collier agreed to trade coaches once the draft was complete. Now, Brondello will coach Team Clark, while Reeve will coach Team Collier.
“I don’t know if this is in the rules, I don’t really care, but I think we already discussed we are gonna trade coaches,” Clark said. “Phee’s gonna take her coach. Sandy Brondello, let’s get it, it’s gonna be amazing. Sorry WNBA if that’s not in the rules.”
Clark gets her Fever teammates
Prior to the draft, Clark made no secret about her strategy: “I think there’s a high chance that [Kelsey Mitchell] and [Aliyah Boston] are on my team. That’s the goal,” Clark said on Monday.
Sure enough, Clark made it happen. She had the first pick in the first round, during which she was only allowed to select starters, and immediately grabbed Boston. In the second round, which only featured reserves, Clark used her first pick to get Mitchell.
This is the second consecutive year that the Fever’s Big Three will play together in the All-Star Game. They all united in 2024 and helped Team WNBA score an upset win over Team USA. This year, they’ll hope to lead Team Clark to victory in front of their hometown fans in Indianapolis.
