07/02/26 12:20:00
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07/02 12:18 CDT Caitlin Clark voted to start third straight WNBA All-Star Game,
joined by two Fever teammates
Caitlin Clark voted to start third straight WNBA All-Star Game, joined by two
Fever teammates
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- Caitlin Clark was voted to start her third straight All-Star
Game and will be joined by Indiana Fever teammates Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah
Boston, the WNBA announced Thursday.
It's the second time in four years that three players from the same team were
chosen to start the game, with Las Vegas doing it in 2023. Clark wasn't able to
play in last year's game that the Fever hosted because she was injured right
before the All-Star break.
Clark and Mitchell will be joined this year in the backcourt by Dallas' Paige
Bueckers and Minnesota rookie Olivia Miles. It's the fourth consecutive year
that a rookie was chosen as an All-Star starter. Bueckers played last season.
A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Jessica Shepard, Natasha Howard and Gabby
Williams were selected for the frontcourt for the game that will be played in
Chicago on July 25. It will be Wilson's and Stewart's eighth All-Star
appearance while Shepard will be making her first.
"It's an honor to be an All-Star, even though I've had a few of them," Stewart
said. "Each one is really special and I'm not taking it lightly."
Williams played in her first All-Star Game last season. Howard will play in her
third.
Starters were chosen by a mixture of fan, player and media votes. The fan vote
counted for 50% while media and player votes were 25% each. Each player's score
was calculated by averaging their weighted rank from all three areas.
The league's head coaches will select the 12 reserves for the team. The 15 head
coaches will vote for three guards, five frontcourt players and four players at
either position regardless of conference. Coaches can't vote for their own
players.
New this year, two WNBA greats will serve as honorary general managers and
select the two teams from the pool of All-Stars. Previously the top two fan
vote-getters would serve as captains and select the squads.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
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