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Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier is the WNBA MVP front runner at the halfway point in the season. Collier and Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark are the two captains for the WNBA All-Star Game and get to draft their teams. Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers had to wait a while to hear her name called, but Collier selected her as the last starter.
Bueckers and Clark share a connection that goes back years. Both stars played under Geno Auriemma at UConn, each winning national titles as their team's best player. The sisterhood of Huskies is a strong on in the WNBA, and Collier showed that during the All-Star draft. Of her five starters, three of them went to UConn, including herself.
Collier expressed her excitement at playing alongside Bueckers on social media with a short remark on social media.
“Can't wait,” Collier said about her pick.
Collier and Bueckers have been the top players on their teams all season. However, the Lynx are doing far better than the Wings so far this year. After a slow start from Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas has scratched and clawed its way to 6-14. Minnesota, on the other hand, sits at 17-2. The team is undefeated at home outside of a Commissioner's Cup Final loss to the Fever.
This year's All-Star Game is Collier's fifth of her career. Bueckers, on the other hand, is one of three rookies making their All-Star Game debut. She is joined by Washington Mystics standouts Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen. While both Bueckers and Collier have clashed on the court all season, the All-Star Game gives each of them a chance to rub elbows with the best the WNBA has to offer.
The connections that Bueckers walked into the WNBA with are largely thanks to UConn. The All-Star draft was just another example of the friendships she has around the league and how her predecessors connect with her both on and off the court. Collier, for one, was a fan before she even touched the WNBA.
