The Indiana Fever will host the WNBA’s top teams for the first time in franchise history as the league prepares for its All-Star weekend. One of the biggest concerns heading into the event is that Fever guard Caitlin Clark will not participate due to a groin injury sustained during Tuesday’s loss to the New York Liberty. Clark joins two other players selected to represent their teams who are unable to compete because of injuries.
The 2025 All-Star Game will feature a quartet of rule changes that aim to make the event more dynamic and fast-paced, according to thescore.com. A new four-point circle has been added on the court, located 28 feet from the basket, where a player who makes a shot while in contact with one of these zones will be awarded four points. This rule was also used during the 2022 All-Star Game and is designed to encourage more aggressive play near the rim. In addition to the scoring change, there will be a 20-second shot clock, live substitutions similar to hockey line changes, and no free throws allowed until the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.
The two captains for the All-Star teams were chosen based on fan votes, with Indiana Fever sharpshooter Caitlin Clark and Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier taking the top spots. Clark selected her teammate Aliyah Boston first in the draft, followed by A’ja Wilson, Allisha Gray, and Satou Sabally to round out her starting lineup. Collier chose New York Liberty icon Breanna Stewart as the second overall pick, followed by Lynx teammate Courtney Williams, Alyssa Thomas, and Angel Reese. Angel Reese recently became the first player in WNBA history to record six consecutive games of 15 or more rebounds.
The team will be coached by Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve after Clark and Collier decided to swap coaches so that Reeve could manage her two players on the roster.
Reese was honored as the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played from August 17 through August 24, according to a report from The Sporting News. She helped lead the Atlanta Dream to a victory over the Las Vegas Aces and then recorded a record-breaking rebound total of 26 in a win over the Los Angeles Sparks. The previous single-game record for rebounds was held by Chamique Holdsclaw with 24 in 2003. Reese’s performance helped the Dream improve to 25-13 on the season and maintain a strong position in the standings as the regular season nears its end. The Dream is set to host the Portland Fire on Friday before facing the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday.
Meanwhile, controversy arose during a recent Fever-Sky game when Sky owner Michael Alter reported that Enes Freedom, a former NBA player and vocal advocate for transgender rights, was involved in a verbal altercation with Sky point guard Natasha Cloud, ESPN reported. Freedom had been sitting courtside wearing a black T-shirt that read ‘WOMAN noun’ when he was removed from the game. Alter said Freedom had begun to provoke Cloud by engaging in conversation and making gestures toward her on the court. He described how Freedom took a step forward onto the court and pointed at Cloud, which led to his removal from the game. Freedom later posted on social media that he had been kicked out of a WNBA game for supporting women.
The WNBA currently has no publicly available policy governing eligibility for transgender or intersex athletes. Sources indicated that the league is reviewing this issue but has not yet taken action on any specific cases.
The incident has sparked debate about how fans and players interact in the league’s environment.
IMAGE: Photo by JD Scott. Photo: MGoBlog / Wikimedia, taken 2022-02-06, CC BY-SA 2.0