Team Collier is looking locked and loaded for Saturday's 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, with captain Napheesa Collier heading up a roster stocked with talent from the league-leading Minnesota lineup.
The Lynx star will start the game alongside 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), and rookie phenom Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings).
Team Collier's bench showcases a balanced group of Courtney Williams (Minnesota Lynx), Skylar Diggins (Seattle Storm), Angel Reese (Chicago Sky), Alyssa Thomas (Phoenix Mercury), and Kelsey Plum (LA Sparks).
Kayla McBride (Minnesota Lynx) will also join the squad, replacing the injured Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream), boosting the team's Minnesota contingent to three players.
Adding to the Lynx representatives is Minnesota manager Cheryl Reeve, who will serve as the squad's head coach following a first-of-its-kind draft-day swap between the Collier and fellow All-Star captain Caitlin Clark.
"I'm just glad people are understanding Phee's greatness," Reeve said about Collier before the 2025 WNBA All-Star weekend. "There's nothing else you can say at this point."
With a steady front and backcourt presence, Team Collier has experience on their side as they take on a youth-heavy Team Clark on Saturday.
How to watch Team Collier at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game
Team Collier and Team Clark will square off in the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday.
Live coverage of the game will air on ABC.
The WNBA announced superstar lineups for the 2025 All-Star 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge on Tuesday, though the league will have to hope their best laid plans survive to see the weekend.
Along with the previously self-confirmed Sabrina Ionescu (New York) and Sonia Citron (Washington), Friday's 3-Point Contest roster will include Caitlin Clark (Indiana), Kelsey Plum (LA), and reigning event champion Allisha Gray (Atlanta).
Gray will also be defending her 2024 Skills Challenge title, with Natasha Cloud (New York), Skylar Diggins (Seattle), Erica Wheeler (Seattle), and Courtney Williams (Minnesota) looking to usurp the Dream guard on Friday.
Despite the WNBA's confirmation of Clark's long-awaited 3-Point Contest debut, her availability is now in question after the Fever guard appeared to re-aggravate a lingering groin injury, forcing her early exit from Indiana's 85-77 win over Connecticut on Tuesday night.
Fever head coach Stephanie White said afterwards that Clark "felt a little something in her groin," with further evaluation expected as Indiana travels to face New York on Wednesday.
This year's All-Star contingent already suffered one loss, with Atlanta guard Rhyne Howard sidelined with a left knee injury through the end of the month. In her stead, Minnesota guard Kayla McBride will step in, making her fifth career All-Star appearance.
Set to captain one of this weekend's All-Star squads, the WNBA is hoping that Clark is fully available for what's shaping up to be a huge celebration of basketball in Indianapolis.
How to watch the All-Star 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge
The 2025 WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest will take the Indianapolis court at 8 PM ET on Friday, with both competitions airing live on ESPN.
Two WNBA championship contenders found their way back into the win column on Monday, when the No. 2 Phoenix Mercury and No. 4 Atlanta Dream each notched emphatic victories following disappointing weekend results.
Phoenix tasted revenge by blasting No. 11 Dallas 102-72, with guard Sami Whitcomb's game-leading 36 points and 2025 All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas's triple-double (15 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds) sending the Wings' rookie core packing.
After last Thursday's surprise upset, Dallas's injury-shortened lineup couldn't keep pace in a rematch with the deeper, more experienced Mercury.
The No. 6 Golden State Valkyries also showed their limits on Monday, dropping their sixth road game of the season in a 90-81 loss to the Dream.
Energized by a 24-point performance from 2025 All-Star starter Allisha Gray, Atlanta capitalized on the Valks' fourth-quarter collapse, outscoring the 2025 expansion side 15-2 to book the win.
"I'm telling the refs, 'This is a hard game for us,'" Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said afterwards. "I get it — home cooking. But to me, I thought for sure that [Valkyries players] were going up just as aggressive as their players, and we just did not get the whistle."
With All-Star Weekend fast approaching, regular-season Cinderella stories are beginning to break away from the true powerhouses, as teams keep chasing Minnesota at the top of the WNBA standings.
How to watch the Phoenix Mercury this week
While Atlanta will be resting until Friday, Phoenix is back in action on Wednesday, when the Mercury will host the league-leading Lynx at 3:30 PM ET.
Live coverage of the game will air on WNBA League Pass.
The WNBA dropped its All-Star Game starters list on Monday, with just one rookie earning enough votes to feature on the star-studded 10-player lineup.
In addition to being the lone rookie, Dallas's No. 1 overall draft pick Paige Bueckers will be the only All-Star debutant playing in the game's first minutes, as the Wings guard joins nine previous All-Stars to tip off the July 19th matchup — giving her a presumptive edge in this year's Rookie of the Year race.
Joining Bueckers as WNBA All-Star starters will be team captains Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx) and Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever), as well as Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), Satou Sabally (Phoenix Mercury), Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), and A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces).
A mix of 50% fan voting, 25% player voting, and 25% media voting determined the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game starting lineup — though the three groups did not necessarily come to a consensus.
For example, players ranked Clark ninth among guards, while the media put her in third. A record-setting 1.29 million fan votes boosted the Fever star into a captain's role.
As for players who fell just short of a starting position, like Indiana guard Kelsey Mitchell and Chicago forward Angel Reese fell just short of starting at their positions, their All-Star dreams aren't over yet.
Head coaches across the league will now vote to select 12 reserve players, likely adding both fan favorites and stat-sheet stars to the July 6th final All-Star player pool, with Collier and Clark building their teams from that list on July 8th.
Though reputation, skill, and popularity all factor into All-Star nods, this year's group is also underlining the depth of the WNBA's talent base.
The third-place Atlanta Dream are storming up the WNBA standings, winning their last three games by an average margin of 23.6 points after routing the Washington Mystics 89-56 on Sunday.
Atlanta guard Rhyne Howard opened the weekend by tying the WNBA record for three-pointers made in a single game, recording nine baskets from behind the arc as the Dream took down the Chicago Sky 88-70 on Friday.
Offseason pick-up Brittney Griner has also been busy, passing WNBA legend Lisa Leslie for No. 2 on the league's all-time career blocks list following this weekend's Atlanta victories.
While the Dream have made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, a few key roster additions plus a new coaching hire have Atlanta entertaining a shot at a first-ever championship bid.
The momentum shift has largely been on offense, with the Dream hitting a franchise-record 18 three-pointers while guard Allisha Gray put up a career-high 32 points on Sunday.
Also quietly climbing the WNBA's ranks is the only other team currently on a three-game winning streak, the Golden State Valkyries.
Bolstered by a 76-70 Saturday win over the always-dangerous Seattle Storm, the 2025 expansion side secured a 5-5 season record to claim sixth place on the league table this weekend.
How to watch the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday
Nearly the entire league is in action on Tuesday, as 12 of the 13 teams will face off on WNBA courts.
The Dream will have their work cut out for them as they face the 2024 champion Liberty at 7 PM ET, taking on a New York side eager to bounce back from their first 2025 loss.
As for the Valkyries, Golden State will visit Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings at 8 PM ET.
Both games will air live on WNBA League Pass.
The WNBA recognized May’s top performers on Wednesday, handing out the first round of monthly awards to early-season standouts across the league.
Lynx star Napheesa Collier picked up Western Conference Player of the Month, with the forward averaging 26.8 points per game while leading Minnesota to a 6-0 May start.
Earning the same honor in the Eastern Conference was Dream standout guard Allisha Gray, who started the season with a 21.4 points-per-game average to help boost Atlanta to third in the league standings.
New York Liberty manager Sandy Brondello won Coach of the Month — a natural fit after leading the 2024 WNBA champs to their best opening record since 1997.
The most surprising nod, however, went to Rookie of the Month Kiki Iriafen, with the Mystics forward averaging a 13.9-point, 10.1-rebound double-double while shooting 47.4% from the field in her first month as a pro.
The USC product opened the season with a bang, becoming just the second rookie in WNBA history to record four double-doubles in her first five games, joining Utah Starzz forward Natalie Williams, who did so in 1999 — three years before Iriafen was born.
The day-one Mystics starter is also the first Rookie of the Month in Washington franchise history, telling reporters, "From the day I got drafted to the Mystics, I just put my head down, like, I'm going to work… I'm just giving my best effort every single time that I'm playing, and it's nice to see the fruits of your labor come to fruition."
How to watch the winners of May's WNBA awards in action
While Collier's Lynx and Gray's Dream are off until the weekend, Brondello's Liberty will visit Iriafen and the Mystics at 7:30 PM ET on Thursday, live on Prime.
While the undefeated New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx look down from the top, Phoenix and Atlanta are shaping up to be the early season's biggest players, as the No. 3 Mercury and No. 4 Dream continue to climb the 2025 WNBA standings.
The Mercury topped the skidding LA Sparks 85-80 on Sunday to reach 5-2 on the season, while the Dream secured their own 5-2 record after Friday's 94-87 win over the Seattle Storm.
Atlanta and Phoenix made some of league's boldest offseason moves this year, as Mercury legend Brittney Griner joined the Dream in free agency while Phoenix picked up top talent in forwards Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally.
With Thomas nursing an injury, Sabally led Phoenix over LA behind a team-high 24 points on Sunday.
Griner's 15-point, eight-rebound performance helped Atlanta quiet the Dallas Wings 83-75 on May 24th, before established stars Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard combined for 61 points against Seattle.
Meanwhile at the bottom of the table, the Connecticut Sun registered their first victory of the 2025 season on Friday, edging out the injury-laden Indiana Fever to become the final WNBA team to enter the win column this season.
The Sun, however, came crashing back to Earth on Sunday, falling to the reigning champion Liberty by a steep 48-point margin on the first day of Commissioner's Cup play.
How to watch WNBA games this week
The Mercury are back in action in a road match against the Lynx at 8 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on ESPN3.
Following a full week of rest, the Dream will travel to Connecticut to take on the Sun at 7:30 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage on ION.
Insurance giant Aflac is renewing their 2024 partnership with the WNBPA, raising the stakes at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend by boosting prize payouts for individual competitions.
When WNBA standouts will take the Indianapolis court for the July 18th competitions, $60,000 will be on the line for this year's 3-Point Contest winner and $55,000 for the 2025 Skills Challenge champion.
Those figures reflect Aflac's overall purse increase from $110,000 to $115,000 — a move that aligns the two events' payouts with their NBA All-Star equivalents.
"Aflac's investment in us isn't a one-off. It's year two," said WNBPA president and nine-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike. "We're excited about what's ahead as we grow this together. It's not just about the rewards; it's about building a future where our value is undeniable."
Gray, Clark are early favorites for All-Star contest payday
While the increase achieves gender pay equity with their NBA counterparts, Aflac's initial 2024 WNBA All-Star investment already dwarfed the mere $2,575 allocated to each contest's victor in the league's current CBA.
Cashing in on that significant pay increase was Atlanta Dream forward Allisha Gray, who cleaned up at the 2024 All-Star Game by winning both solo events.
As the first-ever player to dominate both contests in a single night, Gray collected roughly 62% of her annual $185,000 WNBA salary with the dual wins.
This year, however, the champ will have some new competition to her title defense, as 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year and notable sharpshooter Caitlin Clark plans to make her WNBA All-Star 3-Point Contest debut this summer.
How to attend the 2025 WNBA All-Star Weekend
Hosted at the Indiana Fever's home of Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will tip off on July 19th, one day after both the 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge.
Tickets for all three events will go on sale online at 2 PM ET on April 29th.
Team WNBA defeated Team USA 117-109 at the 2024 All-Star Game for the second-straight Olympic cycle on Saturday, fueled by a record-setting 34 points from All-Star MVP Arike Ogunbowale — all scored in the second half.
Ogunbowale has now won All-Star MVP twice in her career, with both instances coming in games against the US Olympic team. The Dallas guard withdrew her name from Olympic consideration earlier this year.
WNBA All-Stars put up historic numbers
The impending Olympic Games added an extra layer of pressure to this year's All-Star Game, with Team USA needing to develop chemistry as quickly as possible while a few WNBA All-Stars left off the Olympic roster seized the opportunity to prove themselves.
Caitlin Clark broke the All-Star Game assist record for a rookie with 10 assists, while Angel Reese became the first rookie in WNBA All-Star Game history to record a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Allisha Gray added 16 points off the bench for Team WNBA, one day after becoming the first player to ever win both the Skills Competition and the 3-Point Contest in the same year. Kelsey Mitchell and Nneka Ogwumike also scored in the double digits for the winning side.
"I think it was the same four years prior," Clark said of the game's final score. "Team WNBA beat Team USA and they were perfectly fine at the Olympics.
"If anything, it shows how good this league is, how much talent there is."
Team USA looks to improve in tight Olympic turnaround
For the US, losing the All-Star Game isn't the end of the world — they won gold in 2021 after the same result — but they definitely have room for improvement before their Olympic group stage tips off on July 29th.
Breanna Stewart led Team USA with 31 points and 10 rebounds, while fellow Olympic veterans A'ja Wilson contributed 22 points and Diana Taurasi notched 14.
The Paris-bound squad also notably worked players recently out with injury back into the fold: Chelsea Gray played only 11 minutes on Saturday, and Napheesa Collier tallied just three minutes on the court.
What's next for Team USA?
The US will play Germany in a final exhibition game in London on Tuesday before traveling to France on a quest to earn their eighth-straight gold medal. The national team's final pre-Olympic matchup will air live on FS1 starting at 3 PM ET.
No. 1 South Carolina basketball is off to a historic start. The Gamecocks are averaging 107.0 points per game through their first two games of the season, shooting them up the AP Top 25 from No. 6 to No. 1.
Such high-quality play is not uncommon under head coach Dawn Staley. And it shows in the program’s WNBA legacy.
Staley has coached the Gamecocks since 2008, and since then, she’s helped produce multiple WNBA stars. Reigning WNBA Finals MVP A’ja Wilson, 2023 Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston, Tiffany Mitchell, Allisha Gray, Laeticia Amihere and more professional players came from Staley’s program.
“We produce pros,” Staley said. “The very best in the league. And if that’s not proof in the pudding, then this isn’t the place for you.”
South Carolina women’s basketball didn’t have this winning reputation when Staley took the helm in 2008, though.
In 2008 and 2009, Staley and the Gamecocks had losing seasons. But every season thereafter, their record improved. South Carolina secured its first No. 1 ranking and its first Final Four appearance during the 2014-15 season. By 2022, the Gamecocks have appeared in four Final Fours and they’ve collected seven SEC tournament victories and two NCAA championships, among other accolades.
Staley referred to her players as “the storytellers of the program.” While that may be true, South Carolina basketball likely would not have the WNBA pedigree that it has today without Staley’s coaching and guidance.