WNBA's future

When Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier were named captains for the 2025 All-Star Game, it was a veritable statement of where the league stands and where it is headed.

- ANTHONY L. CUAYCONG

One side has the record-smashing sophomore from the Fever. The other heralds Collier, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year awardee from the Lynx. And while they may have taken two very different paths to the same stage, they are jointly determining where women’s basketball is headed.

Needless to say, Clark’s rise in the pro ranks has been nothing short of meteoric. As the league’s most popular player by far, her All-Star Game captaincy was inevitable — and validated by a precedent-setting 1.3 million votes. She has drawn capacity crowds and sparked conversations — both good and bad — far beyond the box scores. And even as she has been at the center of just about every WNBA storyline this season, she has handled the pressure — and opportunity — of superstardom with aplomb.