NEW YORK (AP) — Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier will captain the WNBA All-Star Game next month the league announced Sunday.
Clark received 1,293,526 votes from fans while Collier had about 100,000 fewer.
The Indiana Fever star, who is sidelined with a groin strain, is averaging 18.2 points and a career-high 8.9 assists per game. She also led the fan voting last season, her rookie year, but the All-Star format was the U.S. Olympic team playing against a select group of WNBA stars so no captains were chosen.
Collier leads the league in scoring at a career-best 24.5 points and is fourth in rebounding at 8.4 a game.
The Fever and Lynx will play each other on Tuesday in the Commissioner’s Cup final.
The 10 starters were selected from across the WNBA without regard to conference affiliation. Current players and a media panel joined fans in selecting the All-Star starters. Fans voting accounted for 50% while the players vote and the media choices each account for 25%.
The pair will draft their fellow starters from a group that will be revealed on Monday. After the starters are announced, the league’s head coaches will choose the 13 reserves by voting for three guards, five frontcourt players and four from either position. Coaches can’t vote for players from their own teams. The 12 reserves will be revealed next Sunday.
The two All-Star captains will then draft their respective rosters by selecting first from the remaining eight players in the pool of starters and then from the pool of 12 reserves.
Clark and Collier also led the initial fan voting with Indiana’s Aliyah Boston in third. Boston finished second last season behind Clark in the fan vote.
The All-Star Game is on July 19 in Indianapolis.
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