The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game is just around the corner, with a weekend of festivities set for July 18-19 in Indianapolis. For the first time in franchise history, the Indiana Fever will host the league’s annual midsummer showcase.
The process to determine the 10 starters for the All-Star Game got underway earlier this month when fan voting opened. Fans, who account for 50% of the final vote, will be able to submit their choices until June 28. The top two vote getters will be named captains and select their teams via a draft on July 8. Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier held those positions after the first round of returns, and that is not expected to change once the polls close.
In addition to fans, all current players and a select media panel also submit votes. The players and media each account for 25% of the final vote.
Here is how the votes will be calculated, per the WNBA:
“After all votes are tallied, players will be ranked by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups – fan votes, player votes and media votes. Each player’s score will be calculated by averaging their weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes. The four guards and six frontcourt players with the best score will be named as starters for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025. Fan voting will serve as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score.”
The voting deadline for the media was Friday, and I am honored to once again have an official ballot. All media members were instructed to submit a ballot with four guard and six frontcourt players. In the interest of transparency, I have explained my selections below:
Backcourt
- 2025 stats: 18.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals | 45.5% FG, 41.7% 3FG, 78.9% FT
Diggins’ first season in Seattle was a bit of a mess — both for herself and the team — but that is all in the rearview now. She has been back to her All-WNBA best and the Storm are right in the mix for a top-three seed. At 18.7 points and 6.1 assists per game, Diggins is the only player in the league in the top-10 in scoring (ninth) and top-five in assists (fourth), and is having the third-most efficient season of her career (57.9% true shooting).
- 2025 stats: 19.7 points, 5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals | 46.7% FG, 42.9% 3FG, 82.4% FT
Gray has been an All-Star in each of the last two seasons, but has not yet been a starter. That should change this time around after her brilliant start to the summer. She is putting up career-highs across the board, and is sixth in the league in scoring and first in win shares. Thanks to Gray’s scoring and playmaking, the Dream have the second-best offense in the league and are on pace for their best campaign since 2018.
- 2025 stats: 19.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.7 steals | 41.5% FG, 31.8% 3FG, 92.5% FT
A recent cold streak has hurt Ionescu’s shooting percentages, but even so she has been one of the most effective guards this season and helped the Liberty get out to the best start in franchise history. Few players balance scoring and playmaking as well as Ionescu does; she’s fifth in the league in scoring and ninth in assists. Her 19.7 points per game would be a career-best, and she’s on pace to average at least five assists for the fifth season in a row.
- 2025 stats: 20.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.5 steals | 38.8% FG, 34.5% 3FG, 89% FT
The Sparks made a bold move to trade the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft for Plum during the offseason, and while they haven’t had as much early success as they would have hoped, that’s through no fault of their star guard. Plum has carried the team on the offensive end and is putting up career-highs in scoring and assists. She’s also fourth and seventh in the league in those two categories, and is on pace to join Diana Taurasi as the only players with multiple seasons averaging at least 20 points and five assists.
Frontcourt
- 2025 stats: 15.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 blocks | 59.3% FG, 71.1% FT
Boston made history as a rookie when she led the league in field goal percentage, and now she’s on pace to do so again. Despite being without her running mate, Caitlin Clark, for nearly half the season, Boston has been enjoying the finest campaign of her young career. In addition to having her best scoring season, she’s also averaging a career-high in assists and has shown impressive development as a decision maker.
- 2025 stats: 24.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.5 blocks | 52.4% FG, 42.1% 3FG, 93.1% FT
Collier has been out since June 17 with a back injury, but still remains the clear favorite in the MVP race. Her stellar play on both sides of the ball has the Lynx off to a 12-2 start and all alone in first place. Collier is putting up career-highs in scoring, assists, blocks and field goal percentage, and is in the top-10 in the league in scoring (first), rebounding (sixth), steals (fifth) and blocks (fourth). She’s also on pace to join Elena Delle Donne as the only WNBA players in the vaunted 50/40/90 club.
- 2025 stats: 21 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.2 blocks | 51.9% FG, 23.8% 3FG, 81.8% FT
Stewart has been her typically steady presence on both ends for the Liberty, who got off to the best start in franchise history at 9-0. She’s third in the league in scoring, and is on pace for her third consecutive season averaging at least 20 points, five rebounds and three assists. No one else in league history has recorded more than two such seasons. Stewart is also having her most efficient season since 2018 (62.4% true shooting).
- 2025 stats: 14.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 1.7 steals | 53.2% FG, 65.1% FT
Thomas missed a few weeks early in the season, but she’s since returned and has been phenomenal for the new-look Mercury, who are all alone in third place at 11-4. She’s enjoying her most efficient season ever (56.3% true shooting) and averaging a career-high in assists while powering the Mercury’s turnaround. Furthermore, she’s on pace to lead the league in assists for the first time in her career.
- 2025 stats: 14 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.5 steals | 46.6% FG, 38.9% 3FG, 80% FT
Due to injuries and overseas commitments, Williams hadn’t played more than 13 games in either of the last two seasons. She’s already surpassed that total this summer, and her presence has been a major boost for the Storm. The league leader in steals, Williams is putting together one of the most unique campaigns ever. Tamika Catchings and Angel McCoughtry are the only other players in league history to average at least 14/4/4 with 2.5 steals.
- 2025 stats: 21.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2 steals, 2.8 blocks | 44% FG, 85.3% FT
Wilson made more history on Wednesday when she became the fastest player to 5,000 points in WNBA history (238 games). The reigning MVP missed a few games with a concussion, but is once again putting up ridiculous numbers on both sides of the ball. She leads the Aces in scoring, rebounds, steals and blocks, and is second, second, second and first in the league in those same categories.
Toughest omissions
Backcourt: Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever
Clark is tied for the league lead in assists with a career-high 8.9, but has dealt with injuries and a recent shooting slump. Between her quad and groin issues, she has only appeared in 60% of the Fever’s games. Ultimately, that’s not enough to merit a starting spot on my ballot, though she will almost certainly be a starter.
Backcourt: Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings
The No. 1 overall pick has been awesome to start her professional career, and it came down to her or Plum for the final backcourt spot. Their advanced offensive numbers are almost identical, and they both carry tremendous burdens. Plum gets the extremely narrow edge because she has missed fewer games and her team has a slightly better record.
Frontcourt: Satou Sabally, Phoenix Mercury
Sabally carried the Mercury early in the season when Kahleah Copper and Alyssa Thomas were out injured, and is a big reason they’re off to such a great start. But while she is eighth in the league in scoring, she has been super inefficient and nearly has as many turnovers (38) as assists (39).
Frontcourt: Nneka Ogwumike, Seattle Storm
Ogwumike keeps chugging along as one of the most consistent and productive forwards in the league. There’s really not much you can knock her on, but there are only six frontcourt spots to go around. It came down to her and Williams for the last spot, and her Storm teammate’s all-around brilliance has simply been too much to overlook.