Caitlin Clark and Angel Reyes selected to WNBA All-Star Team

CNN
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Freshmen Kaitlyn Clark of the Indiana Fever team and Angel Reese The Chicago Sky were selected to the WNBA All-Star Team, Advertise Tuesday.

This is the first time two rookies have been named to the WNBA All-Stars in the same season since 2014.

Reese, who was also named the WNBA’s Rookie of the Month for June, was very emotional after learning of her selection to the All-Star team.

“I’m so happy,” she told reporters through tears. “All the work I put in, and coming into this tournament made a lot of people doubt me — they didn’t think my game would work out and I wouldn’t be the player I was in college… I just trusted the process and believed in it.”

In Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Dream, Reese recorded her 11th career rebound, a team record, with 19 in the Sky’s 85-77 win. She’s now one shy of Candace Parker’s all-time rebounding record, which she set over two seasons.

Meanwhile, Clark was named the WNBA’s Rookie of the Month in May and has consistently drawn big crowds during her time in the WNBA. On Tuesday, 20,366 fans watched her team lose 88-69 to the Las Vegas Aces, the fifth-largest crowd in league history and the most since 1999.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been her teammate before, even in the NBA,” Clark said of bonding with her former college rival Reese. ESPN“I know people will be very excited about this, but I hope it doesn’t affect others.

“Obviously that’s something that’s really hard to achieve, so the best we can all celebrate would be great and we’ll enjoy the experience of course, because you never know if you’re going to be able to get back there and it’ll be fun for all of us.

The two newcomers to the 12-player WNBA roster are four-time All-Star Aaliyah Boston (Fever), Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings) and nine-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm).

The WNBA will face the USA women’s national basketball team at Footprint Center in Phoenix in a sold-out game on July 20.

Six-time All-Star A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces leads Team USA’s All-Star 20. Joining Wilson are six-time All-Star Brianna Stewart (New York Liberty), 11-time All-Star Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) and 10-time All-Star Brittney Griner (Mercury).

This will be the second time the All-Star Game features a matchup between the USA Basketball Team and the Women’s Basketball Association (WNBA) Team.

In 2021, the WNBA defeated Team USA 93-85 in Las Vegas ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

The stars were selected by fans (50% of the vote), current WNBA players (25%) and a national panel of broadcasters and sportswriters (25%).