2024-07-21 08:45:02
PHOENIX – With the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game set to tip off tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET from Footprint Center, the Indiana Fever trio of Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell will represent Team WNBA in a matchup against the USA Basketball Women’s National Team.
Saturday’s contest will be Clark’s WNBA All-Star Game debut, while Mitchell and Boston were named to their first All-Star rosters last year, though the two competed on opposing teams. In 2023, Mitchell was a reserve on Team Stewart and Boston was a starter on Team Wilson. Boston ended up scoring the first points of the night in last year’s contest and finished with a team-high 11 rebounds and six points, while Mitchell tallied two points in her teams’ 143-127 win.
For Clark, participating in the WNBA All-Star game next to Boston and Mitchell, while striving to expand the reach of Indiana women’s basketball, brings an element of purpose beyond the competition itself.
“I feel very fortunate and very lucky to be able to share this experience with them,” Clark said. “It’s really cool for our franchise and it’s something that’s really hard to accomplish. I think it shows where we’re going and what we’re capable of, but getting to share with them too it’s a memory you’re going to share together forever.”
Five reasons why Caitlin Clark is an All-Star:
1.Became the first rookie in WNBA history and first player in franchise history to record a triple-double.
2.Leads all WNBA players in assists with an average of 8.2 assists per game.
3.Became the fastest rookie in WNBA history to record at least 400 points and 200 assists in just 26 games.
4.Recorded five-consecutive double-doubles in points and assists throughout June and July, marking the longest streak of its kind by a rookie in league history.
5.Broke the WNBA single-game assists record as she dished out 19 assists on July 17.
This point in the season signifies the halfway mark of Boston’s sophomore season with Indiana. After being the 2023 WNBA No. 1 draft pick by Indiana, this years’ numerous national broadcasts and record-setting crowds, Boston senses the notable differences between her first and second years in the league with this Fever squad.
“You see the energy, you see the eyes, you see everything that is women’s basketball and that is women’s sports, and that’s really exciting,” Boston said. “For us, it’s just being in that moment, understanding where we’re at, understanding the eyes that are on us, understanding that we come in every single day and we work hard and give it our all because we love the game and it will love you back.”
Five reasons why Aliyah Boston is an All-Star:
1.Named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week on June 18 for the second time in her career.
2.Fourth in the WNBA in field goal shooting percentage at 53.2 percent.
3.Sixth in the WNBA in blocks per game at 1.5 blocks per contest.
4.Eighth in the WNBA in rebounds per game at 8.7 rebounds per game.
5.Moved into a tie for fourth in franchise history with Erlana Larkins for career double-doubles with 20.
This year, Team WNBA will be coached by former Olympian, three-time Naismith Player of the Year recipient and women’s basketball legend, Cheryl Miller. Miller played college basketball at the University of Southern California where she led the Trojans to back-to-back national championships. Miller was also the first head coach of Phoenix Mercury in 1997.
Saturday holds extra significance for Mitchell, who views the All-Star game as a unique opportunity to glean wisdom from one of the trailblazers in women’s basketball, particularly alongside her Fever teammates.
“Cheryl Miller told us that she wanted to win, and she made it clear and asked us, ‘How do you all want to do this?” Mitchell said yesterday. “I think we grow to appreciate it, because at the end of the day, we’re competitors. What she’s done for us, and paved the way for us to be here, we’re eternally grateful for her. I think that we only can do right by her by competing as best as we can tomorrow.”
Five reasons why Kelsey Mitchell is an All-Star:
1.Second on the team in scoring and 14th in the WNBA averaging 16.9 points per game.
2.Became the 19th player in WNBA history to reach 500 made 3-point field goals.
3.Cracked the top 60 all-time in points scored in a WNBA career with 3,596 entering the second half of the season.
4.Second all-time leading scorer in franchise history.
5.Has scored in double figures in Indiana’s last 23 of 26 games played.
Mitchell, Boston and Clark join 12 other Fever players who have been named to an All-Star roster. Below, find the full list of franchise All-Stars:
Fever All-Stars:
Aliyah Boston: 2023*, 2024
Tamika Catchings: 2002*, 2003*, 2005*, 2006*, 2007*, 2009*, 2011*, 2013*, 2014*, 2015*
Caitlin Clark: 2024
Marissa Coleman: 2015
Anna DeForge: 2007*
Katie Douglas: 2009*, 2011*
Candice Dupree: 2017, 2019
Briann January: 2014
Kelsey Mitchell: 2023, 2024
Tammy Sutton-Brown: 2007
Erica Wheeler: 2019^
Tamika Whitmore: 2006
Natalie Williams: 2003
Rita Williams: 2001
Shavonte Zellous: 2013
*: Starter, ^: All-Star Game MVP
