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WNBA Announces Caitlin Clark's All-Star Game Replacement

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Jul 17, 2025 4:51 PM ET

An unfortunate injury to Caitlin Clark in a game earlier this week has sadly proven serious enough that she can no longer participate in the WNBA All-Star Game this weekend.

Clark missed yesterday's game against the New York Liberty with a groin injury and it's clear that she needs more time to recover. It's her fifth injury in just the past few months.

As a result, "Team Clark" will be without its captain for the game. But her spot needs to be filled by someone.

On Thursday, the WNBA announced that Washington Mystics star Brittney Sykes will serve as Clark's replacement in the game. This will be Sykes' first All-Star appearance in eight seasons in the WNBA.

Brittney Sykes will join Team Clark as a replacement for Caitlin Clark in the 2025 @att WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday July 19 pic.twitter.com/xB4ZrlNyfV
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 17, 2025

Sykes has been pretty superb since joining the Mystics back in 2023. She is averaging a career-high 17.1 points and 4.4 assists per game this season

Sykes previously earned All-Defensive First Team honors in 2023 and has earned All-Defensive honors four times since 2020. Between 2021 and 2022 she was the WNBA's steals leader in both seasons.

This past offseason she helped the Rose CB basketball team win the inaugural Unrivaled championship alongside Angel Reese.

Speaking of Reese, the Chicago Sky star has also been ruled out of the All-Star Game with an injury.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - MAY 8: Brittney Sykes #20 of the Washington Mystics handles the ball during the game against the Minnesota Lynx on May 8, 2024 at Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images)Stephen Gosling/Getty Images

It's a very disappointing outcome for the WNBA, who had marketed most of the entire All-Star Game and All-Star weekend around Clark. They had named her captain of one of the teams after an historic amount of votes among fans and were ready to feature her in the Three-Point Contest.

Now the WNBA will be lucky to see their All-Star Game get comparable numbers to some of the struggling events on the summer sports calendar.

Hopefully Clark is back at full health soon.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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