Lynx's Sylvia Fowles seeing more of a mentor's role in sixth All-Star Game

The first time Sylvia Fowles was named to the WNBA All-Star Game she was 23, in her second season.

It was a thrill.

She was the Eastern Conference's starting center in 2009, a relative child among legends. Lisa Leslie, Lauren Jackson and Tina Thompson were just three of the veteran post players she got to rub shoulders with that weekend. Legends who, combined, have eight WNBA title rings.

Fowles was an ascending player. She was also a fan.

"That first All-Star Game is the best, of course," Fowles said. "You have a lot of memories of it. Those were my idols. I looked up to them. That's the best one."

So far, anyway. Saturday's WNBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas will be Fowles' sixth. Now 33 years old, she's as interested in rest as she is in the honor of making the game for the third straight season. After Wednesday's loss to the Mystics, Fowles joked that she'd be more than willing to let the younger players take her playing time.

But don't let her fool you, as Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. Fowles might roll her eyes, but it matters. "If she hadn't been an All-Star she would have been [upset]," Reeve said. "She might be a little more tempered. But when you're older, and you know the end is near, you start to value these things."

The Lynx, 10-10 into the break, have three players at the game: Fowles, guard Odyssey Sims and forward Napheesa Collier, the only rookie, named by the league as an injury replacement for A'ja Wilson.

They headed to Las Vegas as teammates — a post-selection trade moved Collier onto the team with Fowles and Sims — with very different views on what it means.

Fowles is the veteran, been there, doing it again. Sims, 26, is midcareer. Thrilled, Sims — traded to the Lynx during the offseason — is going to the game for the first time, an honor she clearly wanted. And it's a signpost for a player who may be coming into her own.

"It's like a surreal moment for me," Sims said.

For Collier, it is a first-year honor that appears to be the first of many.

"I can't believe I've been traded already," she joked. "But it's awesome we're all on the same team. And I can't wait to get down there."

Fowles is an All-Star again, despite a challenging season. WNBA officials clearly are calling the game differently, letting a lot more contact in the post go. Averaging nearly five free throws per game in her career, that number is 2.6 this season. Still, she has remained a double-double machine.

She's also the sole starter from the Lynx's last champion season to have played this season. More vocal with her leadership than in years past, Fowles — called "Mama Syl'' by her teammates — plans on taking a mentor's role in Vegas.

"I'll do everything I'm supposed to do,'' she said of All-Star weekend. "When it isn't mandatory I'm going to do everything I can to recover and recoup. My main focus is my teammates, making sure the have a good time, making sure they're enjoying themselves. Being Mama Syl, yeah."

Sims is being rewarded for what is really a breakthrough season. She struggled a bit into the break, but she is leading the team in scoring (14.7) while averaging career highs in assists (5.3) and rebounds (3.6).

"From the time she got here [in a trade with Los Angeles that sent Alexis Jones to the Sparks] until now, being named an All-Star, she has felt good about the experience here,'' Reeve said. "She is what we needed, a scorer. For her, this reinforces what she's doing. And it's good for me, to keep her pointed in the right direction. When she came here we talked about the next five years of her career, and we're off to a good start."

For Collier — who could be headed to Rookie of the Year honors — this is likely the first of many All-Star trips.

Reeve was happy when Elena Delle Donne and Wilson — the two team captains — made the trade that put Collier on a team with Fowles and Sims that will be coached by Las Vegas' Bill Laimbeer. "I've had experience with our players being on the same team [in an All-Star Game],'' she said. "And that's fun. I don't know if Bill will have the same focus I had, having them on the floor together. I'm going to send him a message, a rotation I think works."

Seriously, though: Collier is a rookie with a veteran's poise. She plans on doing more than just having fun. She plans on learning from the game's best.

"It will be fun,'' she said. "My family is coming, and I get to be with my teammates in this kind of environment. It will be cool to see all these great players playing together."