Paige Bueckers, A'ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu among WNBA All-Star Game starters joining Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier

Paige Bueckers is a WNBA All-Star.

The Dallas Wings’ No. 1 overall pick earned a start in her first season in the league, continuing a memorable year for the reigning NCAA national champion. The WNBA announced the starters and voting splits on Monday, one day after Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark and Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier were named All-Star captains. Starters are selected by a combination of fan (50%), media (25%) and player (25%) votes.

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Buecker ranked second in fan voting among guards and will join Clark as two of the four backcourt selections in All-Star voting. Clark finished first with fans, third with media and ninth with the players who submitted ballots.

Atlanta’s Allisha Gray, who finished first in media and player vote, and New York’s Sabrina Ionescu round out the backcourt group. Bueckers, Clark and Ionescu are all former No. 1 draft picks.

It is the third selection for Gray, whose game has blossomed in Atlanta. She won both the skills and 3-point contests at the 2024 All-Star Game played between Team USA and Team WNBA. It is the fourth selection for Ionescu, the Liberty reigning champion and franchise all-time 3-point leader. She’s also a veteran 3-point contest competitor, having set the NBA and WNBA single-round record with 37 points in 2023. Ionescu finished second in media and player voting.

Nneka Ogwumike headlines the six frontcourt selections. It is the Seattle Storm forward’s 10th All-Star selection, moving her into a tie for third most in WNBA history with Tamika Catchings and Brittney Griner. Sue Bird leads all players with 13, followed by Diana Taurasi’s 11. (Before 2021, the All-Star Game was not held in Olympic years.)

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Ogwumike and Collier will be joined by the Liberty’s Breanna Stewart, Aces’ A’ja Wilson, Fever’s Aliyah Boston and Mercury’s Satou Sabally.

Stewart and Wilson are making their seventh All-Star appearances as the league’s year-in, year-out MVP contenders. The selection of Clark and Collier as All-Star captains is a changing of the guard from their All-Star battles as captains in preceding seasons.

Stewart, who will play in her fifth consecutive game, is averaging 20.8 points per game (third in the league) and was the most consistent starter in the three voting blocks. She finished fourth all around. Stewart received All-Star captain status twice, splitting the results of the 2022 and 2023 games with Wilson.

Wilson is averaging a second-best 21.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game this season while leading the league in average blocks at 2.6. She led all frontcourt players in media and player voting.

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Sabally, the 2023 Most Improved Player, is having a career year in her first summer in Phoenix. She’s averaging 19.1 points to lead the Mercury to second in the standings despite injuries limiting Kahleah Copper and Alyssa Thomas in the early slate. Sabally scored at least 20 points in nine of 17 games.

Voting now begins for the 12 reserves that will be decided by head coaches. Coaches can vote for three guards, five frontcourt players and four players of either position. They may not vote for their own players. The announcement will be made on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET.

Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, Mystics guard Brittney Sykes, Liberty guard Natasha Cloud (fourth among players), Storm forward Gabby Williams and Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas are all likely to be voted in by players. Mystics forward Kiki Iriafen could join fellow rookie Bueckers, continuing the influx of younger players in the summer exhibition. Iriafen is averaging 8.4 rebounds per game, good for fourth. Angel Reese, a prolific rebounder whose scoring average went up last week, could also be voted into the fold.

The two All-Star captains will draft their teams, with the selections announced during an hour-long edition of WNBA Countdown on Tuesday, July 8 (7 p.m. ET).