{"id":3593,"date":"2026-07-02T18:10:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T18:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3593"},"modified":"2026-07-02T18:10:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T18:10:57","slug":"valkyries-gabby-williams-chosen-to-start-in-wnba-all-star-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3593","title":{"rendered":"Valkyries’ Gabby Williams chosen to start in WNBA All-Star game"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When the Golden State Valkyries signed Gabby Williams in free agency before the start of the season, it was a big splash for the second-year franchise and put a spotlight on the veteran forward.<\/p>\n

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Williams certainly hasn\u2019t wilted under the glare.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, she was named a WNBA All-Star Game starter for the first time, a reward for averaging career-high and team-leading 15.8 points per game, to go with 1.5 steals per contest.<\/p>\n

Williams, known for her lockdown defense, was an All-Star reserve last season when she was selected to the game for the first time.<\/p>\n

After erupting offensively in a win last week over the Atlanta Dream, Williams received high praise from coach Natalie Nakase.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you guys day one, she\u2019s one of the best two-way players in the world,\u201d Nakase said. \u201cWe\u2019re just providing the stage for what we already knew. She\u2019s absolutely a star, she\u2019s our star.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caitlin Clark was voted to start in the game for the third consecutive season and will be joined by Indiana Fever teammates Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the second time in four years that three players from the same team were chosen to start the game, with Las Vegas doing it in 2023. Clark wasn\u2019t able to play in last year\u2019s game that the Fever hosted because she was injured right before the All-Star break.<\/p>\n

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Clark and Mitchell will be joined this year in the backcourt by Dallas\u2019 Paige Bueckers and Minnesota rookie Olivia Miles. It\u2019s the fourth consecutive year that a rookie was chosen as an All-Star starter. Bueckers played last season.<\/p>\n

A\u2019ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Jessica Shepard, Natasha Howard and Williams were selected for the frontcourt for the game that will be played in Chicago on July 25. It will be Wilson\u2019s and Stewart\u2019s eighth All-Star appearance while Shepard will be making her first.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an honor to be an All-Star, even though I\u2019ve had a few of them,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cEach one is really special and I\u2019m not taking it lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starters were chosen by a mixture of fan, player and media votes. The fan vote counted for 50% while media and player votes were 25% each. Each player\u2019s score was calculated by averaging their weighted rank from all three areas.<\/p>\n

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The league\u2019s head coaches will select the 12 reserves for the team. The 15 head coaches will vote for three guards, five frontcourt players and four players at either position regardless of conference. Coaches can\u2019t vote for their own players.<\/p>\n

New this year, two WNBA greats will serve as honorary general managers and select the two teams from the pool of All-Stars. Previously the top two fan vote-getters would serve as captains and select the squads.<\/p>\n

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Williams, who averages 15.8 points per game, will be joined in game by Caitlin Clark, A\u2019ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nValkyries’ Gabby Williams chosen to start in WNBA All-Star game - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3593\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Valkyries’ Gabby Williams chosen to start in WNBA All-Star game - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Williams, who averages 15.8 points per game, will be joined in game by Caitlin Clark, A\u2019ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3593\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T18:10:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3593#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3593\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Valkyries’ Gabby Williams chosen to start in WNBA All-Star game\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T18:10:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3593\"},\"wordCount\":521,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3593#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/39eb77e5d740b466dd627bb7d022d2d5.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3593#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3593\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3593\",\"name\":\"Valkyries’ Gabby Williams chosen to start in WNBA All-Star game - 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