NEW YORK (AP) — Kayla Thornton, Gabby Williams, Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron will be making their All-Star debuts in Indianapolis later this month as they were all chosen on Sunday as reserves for the game.
Thornton has been in the league for nine years and finally is getting her chance to play in the exhibition game. She was selected in the expansion draft by Golden State last year from New York and has helped the expansion team get off to a good start.
“It would be such a reward for her,” said New York's Sandy Brondello, who will be one of the All-Star coaches. “She’s been a role player all her career, but to go into a new organization and do so well, I voted for her as an alternate to get there because she deserves it.”
Williams has been in the league for six seasons, although she's missed time to play with France's national team. She's having a strong season for Seattle this year.
Washington rookies Iriafen and Citron join Dallas' Paige Bueckers as first-year players on the All-Star team. Bueckers was chosen as a starter. It's the first time that three rookies will be playing in the game since 2011.
Other reserves chosen include Seattle's Skylar Diggins, Phoenix's Alyssa Thomas, Atlanta's Rhyne Howard, Indiana's Kelsey Mitchell, Los Angeles' Kelsey Plum, Minnesota' Courtney Williams, Las Vegas' Jackie Young and Chicago's Angel Reese.
“It means a lot to go with these other two,” said Diggins, who will be making her seventh All-Star appearance, of playing with teammates Nneka Ogwumike and Williams.
Thomas will be making her sixth all-star appearance and first with Phoenix.
“Anytime you're an All-Star, it's a huge honor,” Thomas said. “There are a lot of great players in the league. To be around this long and it to be my sixth is a great honor.”
The reserves were selected by the WNBA’s 13 head coaches, who each voted for three guards, five frontcourt players and four players at either position regardless of conference. The coaches were not able to vote for their own players.
Captains Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier will draft their teams for the All-Star Game on July 19. First they'll chose from the eight other starters: Breanna Stewart, A'ja Wilson, Bueckers, Ogwumike, Allisha Gray, Sabrina Ionescu, Satou Sabally and Aliyah Boston.
The All-Star teams will be revealed on Tuesday.
Some notable players left off the team were Washington's Brittney Sykes, Atlanta's Brionna Jones, New York's Natasha Cloud and Los Angeles' Dearica Hamby.
Connecticut was the only team without an All-Star selection.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
From right, Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron (22), Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) and Washington Mystics forward Kiki Iriafen (44) battle for the ball during the second half of a WNBA basketball game Thursday, June 26, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
The hair of Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams bounces as she faces the New York Liberty during the second half of a WNBA basketball game Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Golden State Valkyries' Kayla Thornton, left, drives to the basket in the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Seattle Storm in San Francisco, Sunday, June 29, 2025. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.
Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.
“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.
"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.
Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.
Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.
Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.
At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.
Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.
Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.
After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.
“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”
Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.
Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.
His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.
“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”
Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.
FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
