Sue Bird Reveals 'Biggest Snub' of 2025 WNBA All-Star Game

WNBA icon Sue Bird was clear about one player she believes deserved a roster spot in the 2025 All-Star Game.
Sue Bird shares some laughs as she answers questions from the crowd during The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame 2025 Inductions media event at the WBHOF June 13, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Shawn Millsaps/ Special to News Sentinel)
Sue Bird shares some laughs as she answers questions from the crowd during The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame 2025 Inductions media event at the WBHOF June 13, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Shawn Millsaps/ Special to News Sentinel) | Shawn Millsaps/Special to the News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When All-Star Game rosters get announced for any sports league, the conversation often quickly pivots to which players were "snubbed". This is a word for those who were likely deserving of an All-Star spot but didn't make the final cut.

Of course, there are only so many All-Star slots, which means that any players who were right on the fringes but didn't make it are always going to feel like they were deserving — and usually are. But some of these snubs often stick out above the rest.

And in a July 10 episode of the A Touch More podcast, women's basketball legend Sue Bird conveyed who she believes is the biggest snub from this year's WNBA All-Star Game roster.

ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike, who was the episode's guest, said, "I do feel for Brittney Sykes, Slim, my former teammate. 18 points per game, 4.6 assists, just having a career year."

"That's my biggest snub," Bird chimed in of Sykes. "That's my biggest snub, yearh."

There's no question that Sykes has been fantastic for the Washington Mystics this season, and has been instrumental for the Mystics being 10-10 to this point in the season despite most believing they would be one of the league's worst teams in 2025.

Instead of Sykes earning an All-Star nod, two of her rookie teammates, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, earned spots. These two first-year players have certainly played great, but some would say that Sykes was more deserving, or at least should have gotten priority given that she's a veteran in the league.

Alas, that's not how voting works, and the Mystics' dynamic rookie duo will be Washington's representatives in the July 19 game.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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