The 2024 WNBA All-Star Game roster has been confirmed, with Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese set to debut at the annual showcase later this month.
Clark, the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Heat in this year’s WNBA draft, received the most votes in the fan voting portion. She already won Rookie of the Month in May, leads all first-year players in points (16.2 points per game), assists (6.9 per game) and ranks first in three-pointers made (56). Second in the league.
Reese, the Chicago Sky’s seventh overall pick, was named June’s Rookie of the Year on Tuesday. Over the weekend, she set the WNBA single-season record for consecutive double-doubles (10), and heading into Tuesday night’s game, she led the WNBA in rebounding. Like Clark, Reese finished in the top five in fan voting.
The countdown begins…⏳
Get ready to witness the ultimate clash of talents #WNBAAll-Star Catch the U.S. Women’s National Team on July 20th at 8:30pm ET on ABC 📺 pic.twitter.com/oEyJciHmEx
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 3, 2024
The two rookies are the only two making their first appearance at the exhibition, which is scheduled to take place on July 20 in Phoenix.
“I’m just so happy. I know the hard work I put in,” Reese said. “Coming into this league, a lot of people doubted me and thought my style of play wasn’t going to work and that I wasn’t going to be the player I was in college. … But I believe in the process, I believe in it and I’m grateful that I fell into ( Picked seventh) and was able to come to Chicago.
This is the first time since 2014 that two rookies will compete.
Twelve members of the 2024 U.S. Olympic team automatically qualify for the All-Star Game. Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi will compete in her sixth Olympics and her 11th All-Star Game. Her teammate, center Brittney Griner, will be playing in her tenth All-Star Game, including the 2022 All-Star Game where she is an honorary participant.
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Preliminary selection of the All-Stars is conducted through a combination of voting by fans (50%), members of the national media (25%) and current WNBA players (25%). Coaches fill out the rest of the roster.
The format of the game will still be Team USA versus Team WNBA. In 2021, the last time the format was used, the WNBA team defeated the U.S. Olympic team.
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WNBA teams:
- DeWanna Bonner, Connecticut Sun (Sixth All-Star Game)
- Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever (2nd)
- Caitlin Clark, “Hoosiers” (No. 1)
- Alyssa Gray, Atlanta Dream (2nd)
- Dearica Hamby, Los Angeles Sparks (3rd place)
- Briona Jones, Connecticut Sun (3rd)
- Jonquel Jones, New York Liberty (fifth)
- Kayla McBride, Minnesota Lynx (4th)
- Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever (2nd)
- Arik Ogunbowale, Dallas Wings (4th)
- Nneka Ogwumike, Seattle Storm (ninth)
- Angel Reese, Chicago Sky (1st)
Team USA:
- Nafessa Collier, Minnesota Lynx (4th)
- Kahleah Copper, Phoenix Mercury (4th)
- Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas Aces (6th)
- Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury (No. 10)
- Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty (third)
- Jewell Lloyd, Seattle Storm (6th)
- Kelsey Plumb, Las Vegas Aces (third)
- Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty (6th)
- Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury (No. 11)
- Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun (5th)
- A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces (Sixth)
- Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces (3rd)
Is there any snub?
As my colleague Sabreena Merchant and I wrote last week, picking a WNBA team is always difficult. A legitimate case can be made for each selected player. All but one team (the Washington Mystics) have at least one player participating in exhibition games.
Players who could be snubbed, however, include Storm center Ezzi Magbegor, Bobcats center Alanna Smith and free wing Betnija Laney-Hamilton. Magbegor is competing for Defensive Player of the Year honors. She leads the WNBA in total blocks (42), ranks seventh in rebounds per game (8.7), third in offensive rebounds per game (2.9), third in defensive win shares and third in overall wins Ranked fourth in terms of contribution value. Earlier this season, she had at least three blocks in eight consecutive games, the second-longest streak in WNBA history.
Smith anchors a Bobcats defense that has the WNBA’s best defensive rating (91.3) since 2007. She ranked fourth in defensive win shares and shot a career-high 46.4% from three-point range. Smith and Magbegor were expected to be regular members of Australia’s national team this summer, but as neither was selected for the WNBA All-Star Game, only one international player (Jonquil Jones) participated.
“I think she has a good chance, too,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. “She’s also really good and we’re a good team with a good track record. … I just know these things aren’t easy.
Entering Tuesday night’s game against the Bobcats, New York’s versatile wing Lenny Hamilton leads all WNBA players in net rating (+19.9) who has appeared in more than five games. She is once again one of the top defenders in the WNBA.
Fever is the most iconic WNBA team
After having no players on the U.S. Olympic team, three members of the Fever (Clarke, Boston and Mitchell) were named to the WNBA team, the most of any team. Boston averaged 13.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, finished second in the fan voting and was automatically selected to the team for finishing in the top 10.
Like Boston, Mitchell is playing in his second straight All-Star Game. She averaged 16.3 points per game and was one of eight players voted by coaches to be selected to the All-Star Game.
McBride, Hamby highlight All-Star returnees
Bobcats guard McBride returns to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2019. At the All-Star break, they had the best record in the Western Conference (14-4).
“I’m excited,” Reeve said. “I took it for granted a little bit, but I was excited when it happened. She’s had an unbelievable season so far. Career-high scoring and how much we rely on her, defense, passing game , everything we asked her to do, and the bounce offense she just did everything for us.
Hamby will be named an All-Star for the third time and first since 2022. She leads Los Angeles with career-high averages of 18.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. She will also compete in the Paris Olympics with the U.S. 3×3 team.
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(Photo: Emily Chin/Getty Images)
