INDIANAPOLIS, IN — The WNBA All-Star game is this Saturday on ABC15!
The league finishes off the first half of its season this week before heading into the All-Star break in Indiana, which will be a showcase for captains Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever and Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx.
The Fever have three all-stars with captain Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell all playing in the game. Clark drafted both her Indiana teammates for her team in the game.
Minnesota, led by the other All-Star captain, Napheesa Collier, has the best record in the league at 19-4. The Lynx have one more game against second-place Phoenix on Wednesday before heading into the break.
The Phoenix Mercury will see two stars take the court in the All-Star game on Saturday. Satou Sabally, a forward, was named an All-Star starter and will be on Team Caitlin Clark. Alyssa Thomas, a forward who is currently in the running for league MVP, was named as an All-Star reserve and will be on Team Napheesa Collier.
ROSTERS
Team Clark
Caitlin Clark - Indiana Fever
Aaliyah Boston - Indiana Fever
Sabrina Ionescu - New York Liberty
A'ja Wilson - Las Vegas Aces
Satou Sabally - Phoenix Mercury
Kelsey Mitchell - Indiana Fever
Gabby Williams - Seattle Storm
Sonia Citron - Washington Mystics
Kiki Iriafen - Washington Mystics
Jackie Young - Las Vegas Aces
Kayla Thornton - Golden State Valkyries
Team Collier
Napheesa Collier - Minnesota Lynx
Breanna Stewert - New York Liberty
Allisha Gray - Atlanta Dream
Nneka Ogumike - Seattle Storm
Paige Bueckers - Dallas Wings
Courtney Williams - Minnesota Lynx
Skylar Diggins - Seattle Storm
Angel Reese - Chicago Sky
Alyssa Thomas - Phoenix Mercury
Kelsey Plum - Los Angeles Sparks
Kayla McBride - Minnesota Lynx (replacement)*
Rhyne Howard - Atlanta Dream (out due to injury)
SIDELINED
Atlanta's Rhyne Howard will be sidelined for the rest of the month with a left knee injury she picked up against Indiana. Howard earned her third All-Star nod earlier this month and was drafted by Team Collier. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert named Minnesota's Kayla McBride as Howard's replacement on Tuesday afternoon. It's McBride's fifth All-Star appearance.
Howard is expected to make a full recovery and a timeline for her return will be provided at a later date, the Dream said.
3-POINT CONTEST & SKILLS CHALLENGE
Caitlin Clark will be in a 3-point contest for the first time in her pro career as the Indiana Fever guard will compete Friday night in the WNBA All-Star competition.
She'll be joined by contest record holder Sabrina Ionescu, who last entered the contest in 2023 and hit 25 of her 27 shots in the final round, scoring 37 points. It was the most shots made in a 3-point contest in either the WNBA or NBA.
The Liberty’s star guard wanted to make sure she was completely healthy before officially entering the contest. She said she’ll be trying to break her own mark.
Clark's management team said earlier this year when she turned down competing in some fashion at NBA All-Star weekend that the young star wanted her first 3-point contest to be in Indianapolis at the WNBA weekend.
Allisha Gray, who made her own history last season, winning the 3-point and Skills Challenge, will try and defend her title in both competitions. She beat Jonquel Jones 22-21 to win the 3-point shootout. Gray beat Sophie Cunningham by 2 seconds to win the skills competition.
The Atlanta Dream star received $110,000 from Aflac as part of a partnership with the WNBPA. The 3-point contest winner this year will get an extra $5,000 from Aflac. Gray also got $2,575 from the league for each of her two victories.
Other participants in the 3-point contest are Washington rookie Sonia Citron and Los Angeles' Kelsey Plum.
The other players competing in the skills challenge will be New York's Natasha Cloud, Seattle's Skylar Diggins and Erica Wheeler, and Minnesota's Courtney Williams.
STRONG RATINGS
ABC had its most watched WNBA game ever on Saturday when Paige Bueckers and Dallas faced Clark and Indiana. The Fever won in a blowout in the first pro matchup between the two star guards. The game averaged 2.1 million viewers.
RECORD BREAKER
Naz Hillmon played in her 128th straight game, setting an Atlanta franchise record by passing Iziane Castro Marques’ mark of 127. Natisha Heidman of Minnesota has the longest active streak with 199 consecutive games played. Dawn Staley holds the league record with 263.
POWER POLL RANKINGS
Phoenix moved up to the No. 1 spot, passing Minnesota after beating the Lynx last week. The Mercury haven't been in the top spot since 2018. The Lynx were second and New York was third. Atlanta, Indiana and Seattle followed the Liberty. Washington moved up two spots to seventh with Golden State and Las Vegas next. Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas and Connecticut rounded out the poll.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Alyssa Thomas of Phoenix averaged 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to help the Mercury win both their games last week. Other players receiving votes were Shakira Austin of Washington and Angel Reese of Chicago.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Team Clark vs. Team Collier, Saturday. The league's All-Star Game will take place Saturday in Indianapolis and Clark will surely want to put on a show for her hometown fans.
The game airs on ABC15 with coverage beginning at 5 p.m.
