Angel Reese Named WNBA All-Star, Will Caitlin Clark Draft Her?

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese didn't receive enough votes from WNBA players and media members to earn a nod as an All-Star starter, but she was named as a reserve Sunday. Now, she waits to see which All-Star captain will draft her: Caitlin Clark or Napheesa Collier. 

Indiana Fever superstar Clark, who received more fan votes than any player in the WNBA, was named one of the two captains for the All-Star Game. Minnesota Lynx forward Collier, who finished second in fan voting, is the other. On Tuesday night, Clark and Collier will "draft" players to their respective All-Star teams. They will first select the eight other players who were named All-Star starters and then move on to the reserves. 

While Angel Reese did well in the fan voting portion of the All-Star selection process (fifth among forwards), she lagged behind among other WNBA players and media members (12th among forwards in both). However, the reserves were selected by WNBA head coaches, who were allowed to vote for any player not on their own team who wasn't already named to the All-Star Game. Clearly, the coaches felt Reese deserved her second All-Star appearance in two seasons. 

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese was named as a WNBA All-Star reserve on Sunday and it'll be interesting to see if Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark drafts her.

(Getty Images)

Interestingly, the coaches for the WNBA All-Star Game are Minnesota's Cheryl Reeve and New York's Sandy Brondello. However, Reeve won't coach Collier's team – even though Reeve is Collier's coach in Minnesota. Instead, Reeve will coach Clark's squad. That's because the All-Star coaches were selected based on current WNBA standings. Minnesota has the best record in the league, so Reeve was assigned to Clark's squad because Clark was the leading fan vote-getter. That leaves Brondello to coach Coller's squad during the All-Star Game on July 18. 

That's also interesting because Reeve, who was also the coach of the U.S. Women's National Team at the last Olympics, didn't seem interested in having Clark on that team. Reeve has also criticized the WNBA for leaning into Clark's superstardom, demanding coverage on other, less popular, teams and players. 

But now the attention turns to the WNBA All-Star Draft on Tuesday night. While the media has hyped up a rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese – dating to their college days – the players have downplayed the rivalry over the past two years. What better way to put that to rest than for Clark to draft Reese onto her All-Star team? 

In fact, it feels like Clark almost has no choice but to pick Reese. Imagine if she doesn't? The media is going to LOSE it. Clark is smart about the way she handles her PR, so it wouldn't be at all surprising to see her pick Reese. However, she's likely to pick her own teammate – Kelsey Mitchell, who was also selected as an All-Star reserve – ahead of Reese. 

After that, who knows? But you heard it here first: Caitlin Clark will pick Angel Reese to be on her All-Star squad come Tuesday night.