For Syracuse’s arguably the greatest, it has been one long journey since making history on the draft night nearly a decade ago. The highest drafted Orange saw the ups and downs, the defensive team selections and the trades through 8 years. But the ultimate All-Star nod? That remained elusive. Even during the best season of her career, i.e., 2025. So when the phone finally rang, you’d imagine Brittney Sykes jumping of joy. Well, it was far from it.
When the 2025 All-Star reserves were rolled out, Brittney Sykes was a name among the 4 biggest snubs. If you ask Dearica Hamby, “Taking two and not including the best player from a below .500 team is crazy.” The Mystics guard herself sent a message, saying, “The league got it right the second time,” after Caitlin Clark had announced her withdrawal due to injury and the league had finally picked her as the replacement. But, while Sykes happy and overjoyed now, there was some initial frustration.
In her first All-Star media availability in 9 years, the Mystics star was asked what the situation and emotions were like when she got the call. Sykes explains that after playing against the Los Angeles Sparks, the initial plan was to stay in California with her girlfriend throughout the All-Star break. However, those plans changed soon after an unexpected 6:30 a.m. call by Mystics GM, Jamila Wideman. After being informed of her selection as Caitlin Clark’s replacement, Brittney admitted to having some initial frustrations and indecision about accepting the invitation or not.
She said, “Well, Cathay’s gonna call you. And so yeah, are you gonna go? And I was like cause in the moment emotions were high because one, this is like the second time around with the reserve situation, and I’m human. I make the joke that I feel like the last kid on the playground, but god damn.’’
Before Caitlin Clark went down, Rhyne Howard’s injury had opened an opportunity. But Cathy Englebert would pick Kayla McBride for that. When you are averaging 17.1 points and 4.4 assists, ranking 13th in the league in both, and having your best run yet, that sting is not hard to understand. Moreover, she has majorly helped the Mystics to an 11-11 record, pushing them towards results while the franchise was hanging on to ‘rebuild’. So Sykes remained conflicted.
” I fought with myself today to be like, ‘oh do you go in humble? Do you go in with the chip on your shoulder?’ In that moment, I was frustrated but at the same time, I realised this is something that I wanted. This is something I talked to god about. And I feel like he was like All right, you really want it? We about to see,” she added.
So Sykes has now given her yes, ready to join Team Clark that looks a little different from the one on July 8th. But the fans have their hopes up. It is the best team they could have on paper. So now it is for the former Orange to seize the moment.
Following her initial frustration, Brittney Sykes explained that at the end of the day, she has accepted the way everything went down. Her comments gave us a look into her gratitude regarding her selection as she said, “You can’t complain about something you want and how it’s delivered.”
From career-threatening injuries to All-Star, Brittney Sykes is grateful for the opportunity
Brittney Sykes’ career has had a lot of ups and downs. From two major career-threatening injuries to All-Defensive selections, and now heading to the All-Star Game, her career has had it all. Suffering not one but two ACL surgeries during her college career, odds were always against Brittney Sykes having a successful basketball career.
Jun 15, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Mystics guard Brittney Sykes (20) reacts after a foul call during the second quarter against the Atlanta Dream at CareFirst Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
However, she did ot let these injuries slow her down for long. In fact, she credits these for fueling her and for offering a renewed appreciation for the game. She even made the scars from these injuries a part of her career. With a tattoo showing a road through her career journey that curls around to a mountain, a metaphor for the terrible injuries she had to overcome.
Selected as the seventh overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft, Brittney Sykes has led a successful WNBA career. Being named to the All-Defensive teams four times, it was only a matter of time before her resilience was rewarded. And after a long, patient wait, it has finally happened. So the Mystics star doesn’t want to complain. “You can’t complain about something you want and how it’s delivered,” she says. . It may have been a long wait, and the circumstances might be out of the ordinary. But no one can question her selection.
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