The WNBA All-Star game, which saw Arike Ogunbowale win the All-Star MVP award as the WNBA All-Stars defeated Team USA last year, will take place this coming weekend in Chicago on July 9 and 10.
What will happen over the weekend?
This year, the WNBA will have special events starting July 9 that include a skills competition and a three-point competition, rather than just the game.
All-stars Courtney Vandersloot and Azurá Stevens of the Chicago Sky, Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty, Jonquel Jones of the Connecticut Sun, Rhyne Howard of the Atlanta Dream, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, and NaLyssa Smith of the Indiana Fever are all the players we can expect to see in this year’s All-star competition.
Eight teams will compete in the skills challenge, each with a player from the WNBA and an Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) participant who will be competing in the 2022 Nike Nationals.
The skills challenge is an obstacle course relay competition that will feature dribbling, passing, shooting, and agility.
Moreover, the victor of each match advances to the next round, where they will run the course once again in an effort to get to the final, where two teams will face off a third time.
In addition to the skills competition, this year’s MTN Dew 3-Point Competition, featuring reigning champion Allie Quigley, will be held separately from the skills competition.
The veteran will attempt to win one more championship from outside the arc despite having previously announced her retirement from the sport and the All-Star game being played in Chicago.
The three-time champion and current WNBA leader in three-pointers joins five other players, including Plum, who has made the most shots in the league so far this season with 71.
The remaining competitors are Ariel Atkins of the Washington Mystics, Howard of Atlanta, Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm, and Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings.
After competing in the 2018 and 2021 competitions, Loyd will compete in the competition for a third time, while Atkins, Howard, Ogunbowale, and Plum will all compete for the first time.
In addition to a fifth rack with only money balls and two designated “DEW ZONE” pedestals with balls worth three points, there will be four racks in the competition that each contain four authentic WNBA game balls and one “money ball” for two points.
Who is going to participate in the All-Star game?
A’ja Wilson of Las Vegas and Breanna Stewart of Seattle were selected as the top two All-Stars by the audience, and they were given the honour of leading their respective teams as captains.
Wilson received the first pick in the first round of starters because she finished first overall, while Stewart chose first in the second round of reserves.
Team Wilson received Ionescu from the New York Liberty in exchange for Nneka Ogwumike from the Los Angeles Sparks. The teams also traded co-captains when Seattle’s Sue Bird joined Team Stewart and Minnesota’s Sylvia Fowles joined Team Wilson.
Team Wilson – coached by Las Vegas’ Becky Hammon (In Orange)
Starters
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces (captain)
Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx (co-captain)
Candace Parker, Chicago Sky
Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces
Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty
Reserves
Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream
Courtney Vandersloot, Chicago Sky
Brionna Jones, Connecticut Sun
Dearica Hamby, Las Vegas Aces
Natasha Howard, New York Liberty
Ariel Atkins, Washington Mystics
Team Stewart – coached by Chicago’s James Wade (In Black)
Starters
Breanna Stewart, Seattle Storm (captain)
Sue Bird, Seattle Storm (co-captain)
Jonquel Jones, Connecticut Sun
Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces
Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks
Reserves
Kahleah Copper, Chicago Sky
Emma Meesseman, Chicago Sky
Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun
Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas Wings
Skylar Diggins-Smith, Phoenix Mercury
Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm
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