Of course. Here is a comprehensive summary of the news article, formatted as requested. ### **Summary of WNBA All-Star Starters Announcement** This report details the WNBA's announcement of the 10 starters for the 2025 All-Star Game, highlighting a mix of celebrated rookies and decorated veterans. The starters will join team captains **Caitlin Clark** and **Napheesa Collier** for the event. --- ### **News Metadata** * **News Title:** Rookie Bueckers, Ogwumike named ASG starters * **Report Provider:** ESPN * **Author:** Kendra Andrews (with contributions from ESPN Research and The Associated Press) * **Date of Report:** June 30, 2025, 06:02 PM ET * **Event Covered:** 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, to be held in Indianapolis on July 19. --- ### **Main Findings: The 2025 All-Star Starters** The ten starters were selected through a combined voting process (50% fans, 25% players, 25% media) without conference restrictions. They will be drafted into teams by captains **Caitlin Clark** (Indiana Fever) and **Napheesa Collier** (Minnesota Lynx), who were previously named captains for receiving the most fan votes. The announced starters are: * **Backcourt:** * **Paige Bueckers** (Dallas Wings) * **Sabrina Ionescu** (New York Liberty) * **Allisha Gray** (Atlanta Dream) * *(Joins captain Caitlin Clark)* * **Frontcourt:** * **A'ja Wilson** (Las Vegas Aces) * **Breanna Stewart** (New York Liberty) * **Nneka Ogwumike** (Seattle Storm) * **Aliyah Boston** (Indiana Fever) * **Satou Sabally** (Phoenix Mercury) * *(Joins captain Napheesa Collier)* --- ### **Key Highlights and Statistical Context** #### **Significant Trends: The Rise of the Rookies** The selection of **Paige Bueckers** underscores the immediate impact of the new draft class. * **Historic Achievement:** Bueckers is the sixth No. 1 draft pick in WNBA history to start the All-Star Game as a rookie. She is the first rookie in Dallas Wings franchise history to earn this honor. * **Performance Metrics:** She is the only first-year player in the starting pool (besides captain Clark) and leads all rookies in scoring and assists. * **Scoring:** 18.4 points per game (11th in WNBA) * **Assists:** 5.8 assists per game (6th in WNBA) #### **Veteran Milestones and Dominance** The list also recognizes sustained excellence from the league's established stars. * **Nneka Ogwumike:** Her **10th All-Star selection** is a major career milestone, tying her with Tamika Catchings and Brittney Griner for the third-most appearances in WNBA history. Only Sue Bird (13) and Diana Taurasi (11) have more. * **A'ja Wilson & Breanna Stewart:** Both were selected for their seventh All-Star Game, cementing their status as perennial top players. * **League Scoring Leaders:** The selections reflect on-court performance, with three of the top scorers in the league being named starters or captains. * 1st: **Napheesa Collier** (24.4 ppg) * 2nd: **A'ja Wilson** (21.6 ppg) * 3rd: **Breanna Stewart** (20.0 ppg) #### **Analysis of Voting Results** The voting data reveals a noteworthy difference between fan perception and the views of players and media. * **Caitlin Clark:** While she finished **first in the fan vote**, she placed **ninth in the players' vote** and third in the media vote among guards. This indicates immense public popularity that is not yet fully matched by the evaluation of her peers. * **A'ja Wilson:** In contrast, Wilson **led all frontcourt players in both the media and player voting**, demonstrating that she is widely considered the top player in her position by experts and fellow competitors. * **Paige Bueckers:** Received the sixth-most fan votes overall and was second among guards, showing strong fan support for the rookie. * **Aliyah Boston:** Finished less than 1,400 fan votes behind Napheesa Collier, indicating a very close race for the top frontcourt fan selections. #### **Notable Omissions from Starting Lineup** * **Kelsey Mitchell** (Indiana) and **Angel Reese** (Chicago) narrowly missed being named starters, finishing fifth and seventh, respectively, in voting at their positions. --- ### **Next Steps** 1. **Reserve Selection:** 12 reserve players will be chosen by the WNBA's head coaches. The selections will be announced on Sunday. * Coaches will vote for 3 guards, 5 frontcourt players, and 4 players at any position. * A key rule is that coaches cannot vote for players on their own team. 2. **All-Star Draft:** Captains **Caitlin Clark** and **Napheesa Collier** will draft their rosters from the complete pool of starters and reserves. * **Date:** July 8 at 7 p.m. ET * **Broadcast:** The draft will be televised on ESPN during the "WNBA Countdown" pregame show.
Rookie Bueckers, Ogwumike named ASG starters
Read original at ESPN →Chiney Ogwumike congratulates her sister on All-Star starting nod (0:43)On "Vibe Check," Chiney Ogwumike calls up her sister Nneka to congratulate her on being a WNBA All-Star Game starter. (0:43)Kendra AndrewsJun 30, 2025, 06:02 PM ETPaige Bueckers, the No. 1 draft pick by the Dallas Wings, headlines the WNBA All-Star Game starters announced Monday, a group that will join captains Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier in Indianapolis on July 19.
Bueckers will be the sixth No. 1 pick to start the All-Star Game as a rookie, joining Indiana's Clark (2024), Aliyah Boston (2023), Maya Moore (2011), Sue Bird (2002) and Chamique Holdsclaw (1999).The starters were selected from across the WNBA without regard to conference affiliation. Players and a media panel joined fans in selecting the starters.
Fan voting accounted for 50%, and the player and media polling each accounted for 25%.Bueckers received the sixth-most votes from fans and was second in voting for guards, behind only Clark.Bueckers, the only first-year All-Star in the starting pool, is ranked 11th in the league in scoring (18.4 points) and sixth in assists (5.
8) to lead rookies in both categories. She will be the first rookie to start the All-Star Game in Dallas Wings history. The only other rookies in franchise history selected to the game were Cheryl Ford in 2003 (as the Detroit Shock) and Liz Cambage in 2011 (as the Tulsa Shock).Also announced as starters Monday were All-Star Game regulars A'ja Wilson of the Aces, the Liberty's Breanna Stewart and Seattle's Nneka Ogwumike.
With her 10th All-Star selection, Ogwumike is tied for the third-most All-Star appearances with Tamika Catchings and Brittney Griner. Bird leads all players with 13 selections, followed by Diana Taurasi's 11.Stewart and Wilson are both appearing in their seventh All-Star Game. Wilson is currently second in the league in scoring average (21.
6) and Stewart third (20). Collier, who along with Clark was named a captain Sunday for receiving the most fan votes, leads the league with 24.4 points per game.Allisha Gray of the Atlanta Dream and the Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu round out the backcourt selections, alongside Clark and Bueckers. Indiana's Boston and Phoenix's Satou Sabally complete the frontcourt starters.
Boston finished fewer than 1,400 votes behind Minnesota star Collier for second in the fan voting. Though Clark finished first in the fan vote, she was ninth in the players' vote and third in the media voting for guards.Wilson led all frontcourt players in media and player voting.Kelsey Mitchell of Indiana and Angel Reese of Chicago just missed making the All-Star starters list, finishing fifth and seventh, respectively, at their positions.
Next, 12 reserves will be announced Sunday across WNBA social and digital platforms. These players are selected by the league's head coaches, who will vote for three guards, five frontcourt players and four players of any position. Coaches cannot select players from their own team.Once the reserves are announced and the entire player pool is decided, Clark and Collier will draft their rosters July 8 at 7 p.
m. ET during "WNBA Countdown" ahead of the Liberty's matchup against the Aces on ESPN.ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.