Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier chosen as captains of WNBA All-Star Game by fan vote

NEW YORK (AP) — Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier will captain the WNBA All-Star Game next month, the league announced Sunday.

Clark received 1,293,526 votes from fans, while Collier had about 100,000 fewer.

“It's cool that fans get to be a part of it and have a little impact on the game,” Clark said. “It's going to be special to do it here in this city. ... Trying to make it the best All-Star that the WNBA has ever had. It's certainly a cool honor.”

The Indiana Fever star, who is sidelined with a groin strain, is averaging 18.2 points and a career-high 8.9 assists. She also led the fan voting last season, her rookie year, but the All-Star format was the U.S. Olympic team playing against a select group of WNBA stars so no captains were chosen. She learned she was captain in a phone call from WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

Collier leads the league in scoring at a career-best 24.5 points and is fourth in rebounding at 8.4 per game. Her daughter surprised her wearing a shirt saying “Mama you're a All-Star,” as she scooted into the locker room with former Lynx great Sylvia Fowles right behind her to let Collier know the news.

“It’s really cool,” Collier said to reporters before warming up for a game Sunday night “I went from never being a starter to captain.”

This will be her fifth All-Star appearance.

Before squaring off in Indianapolis on July 19, Clark and the Fever will face Collier and the Lynx on Tuesday in the Commissioner's Cup final.

The 10 starters were selected from across the WNBA without regard to conference affiliation. Current players and a media panel joined fans in selecting the All-Star starters. Fans voting accounted for 50%, while the players vote and the media choices each account for 25%.

The pair will draft their fellow starters from a group that will be revealed on Monday. After the starters are announced, the league's head coaches will choose the 13 reserves by voting for three guards, five frontcourt players and four from either position. Coaches can't vote for players from their own teams. The 12 reserves will be revealed next Sunday.

“Obviously I'm going to try and get my teammates on my team, that's the goal," Clark said. "Once they come out with whoever has made it and whoever hasn't, I'll get to pick and choose. I don't know how it works.”

The two All-Star captains will then draft their respective rosters by selecting first from the remaining eight players in the pool of starters and then from the pool of 12 reserves.

Clark and Collier also led the initial fan voting, with Indiana’s Aliyah Boston in third. Boston finished second last season behind Clark in the fan vote.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark eats Goldfish crackers during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings Friday, June 27, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Indiana Fever players, from left, Sydney Colson, Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark react on the bench during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Dallas Wings Friday, June 27, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

PARIS (AP) — A Paris court is to rule on Monday in a case involving 10 people accused of cyberbullying French first lady Brigitte Macron by spreading false online claims about her gender and sexuality, allegations her daughter said damaged her health and family life.

The defendants, eight men and two women aged 41 to 60, are accused of posting “numerous malicious comments” falsely claiming that President Emmanuel Macron ’s wife was born a man and linking the 24-year age gap with her husband to pedophilia. Some of the posts were viewed tens of thousands of times.

Brigitte Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October.

Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified about what she described as the “deterioration” of her mother’s life since the online harassment intensified. “She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her,” Auzière told the court. She said the impact has extended to the entire family, including Macron’s grandchildren.

Defendant Delphine Jegousse, 51, who is known as Amandine Roy and describes herself as a medium and an author, is considered as having played a major role in spreading the rumor after she released a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021.

The X account of Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, 41, known as Zoé Sagan on social media, was suspended in 2024 after his name was cited in several judicial investigations.

Other defendants include an elected official, a teacher and a computer scientist. Several told the court their comments were intended as humor or satire and said they did not understand why they were being prosecuted. They face up to two years in prison if convicted.

The case follows years of conspiracy theories falsely alleging that Brigitte Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually the name of her brother. The Macrons have also filed a defamation suit in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens.

The Macrons, who have been married since 2007, first met at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher. Brigitte Macron, 24 years her husband’s senior, was then called Brigitte Auzière, a married mother of three.

Emmanuel Macron, 48, has been France’s president since 2017.

FILE - French President's wife Brigitte Macron arrives ahead of the ceremony outside "La Belle Equipe" bar, Thursday Nov. 13, 2025 in Paris as part of ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of terrorist attacks. (Ludovic Marin, Pool photo via AP, File)