Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier draft WNBA All-Star rosters, trade coaches

New York Times

20 hours ago

In their first WNBA All-Star Game as honorary captains, Indiana's Caitlin Clark and Minnesota's Napheesa Collier had some fun and generated excitement while drafting their rosters for the contest, with highlights including a little bit of light trash talk, some obvious loyalties in their selections and a coach swap.
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The first round consisted of a four-player draft to round out the starting lineups, while the second round consisted of picking six reserves.
Leading off, Clark selected Fever teammate Aliyah Boston with her first pick and followed that up by choosing New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, Las Vegas Aces forward A'ja Wilson and Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally.
Collier, meanwhile, picked New York's Breanna Stewart with her first pick and followed that with Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray, Seattle veteran Nneka Ogwumike and fellow UConn star and current Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers.
THE STAGE IS SET 🌟
Team Clark and Team Collier have locked in their final rosters for the 2025 @ATT WNBA All-Star Game!
Watch them take the court in Indianapolis July 19 at 8:30pm/ET on ABC. pic.twitter.com/sfFEELUyGb
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 9, 2025
Collier received the nod to pick first in the second round, choosing Courtney Williams. The rest of her bench consists of Seattle's Skylar Diggins, Chicago Sky second-year forward Angel Reese, Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, who earned an All-Star nod for her fourth straight season, Sparks guard and 2022 All-Star MVP Kelsey Plum and Atlanta Dream forward Rhyne Howard.
Clark's bench is made up of Indiana teammate Kelsey Mitchell, Seattle's Gabby Williams, Washington Mystics rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, Las Vegas' Jackie Young and Golden State's Kayla Thornton.
Following their player selections, Clark and Collier agreed to trade coaches. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, who was originally set to lead Collier's squad, will now coach Clark's team. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve will head Collier's team.
The All-Star Game is Saturday, July 19 at 8:30 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Clark brought together her Fever trio by taking Boston and Mitchell with her first starter and reserve picks, respectively. Collier not only drafted her Lynx teammate Courtney Williams but also attempted to assemble as many UConn Huskies as possible. She selected four-time national champion Breanna Stewart with her first pick, but then went with Nneka Ogwumike over rookie Paige Bueckers. Clark allowed Bueckers to drop to the end of the first round but got a little payback by taking the final Husky, Gabby Williams, with her second reserve pick.
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Collier also managed to secure her head coach, Cheryl Reeve. Reeve had originally been assigned to Team Clark as the coach with the best record, but the two captains traded to keep the Minnesota crew on one squad. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello will now helm Team Clark.
Captains have previously used the All-Star draft as pseudo-free-agency tampering — A'ja Wilson selected Chelsea Gray and Candace Parker with her first picks before the pair joined the Aces — but Clark and Collier were more focused on uniting current teammates than future forecasting. — Sabreena Merchant, women's basketball writer
While Clark wore Indiana Fever gear to the draft, Collier went with an Unrivaled shirt. She selected her Unrivaled co-founder, Stewart, first and collected her entire Lunar Owls squad of Gray, Courtney Williams and Diggins. The only player Collier selected who wasn't at least partially affiliated with Unrivaled (Bueckers is already signed for 2026, and Kelsey Plum was scheduled to play before opting to rest during the offseason) was Ogwumike.
Meanwhile, Team Clark has seven players who weren't part of the three-on-three league, including Clark herself and Wilson. — Merchant
The star sophomores haven't had much of a team rivalry since joining the WNBA, as the Fever have won five of six games against the Sky by an average of 18 points. They were also teammates on Team WNBA during the 2024 All-Star Game. However, this matchup will put the two on more equal footing, though Clark is on her home court. — Merchant