PHOENIX — The WNBA All-Star festivities continue Saturday night in Phoenix as the All-Star team takes on Team USA.
For the first time, freshmen Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, longtime college rivals, will play together as members of the All-Star team.
History was made at the 2024 WNBA All-Star Weekend on Friday, when Allisha Gray of the Atlanta Dream became the first player to win the skills challenge and the 3-point contest in the same season.
Team USA, led by five-time Olympic gold medalist Diana Taurasi, will face Team WNBA, featuring promising rookies Clark and Reese, on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET. The U.S. women’s national team may have won seven consecutive gold medals, but WNBA coach Cheryl Miller said her All-Star team won’t make it easy for them.
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Ann Meyers Drysdale Named Honorary Coach by Cheryl Miller
There’s a new coach on the WNBA bench. Before kickoff at Footprint Center on Saturday, WNBA head coach Cheryl Miller walked across the court and presented Hall of Famer Ann Meyers Drysdale with a throwback coach’s hoodie. Meyers Drysdale received a big round of applause from the crowd as she joined the WNBA bench.
Earlier in the evening, Miller had called Meyers Drysdale the GOAT of the WNBA. Meyers Drysdale was the general manager and president of the Phoenix Mercury. She was a member of the first women’s Olympic team, which won silver at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
Diana Taurasi scores her first points
Taurasi stepped up from the top left corner of the key and hit a three-pointer to open the scoring in the WNBA All-Star Game, giving Team USA an early 3-0 advantage.
Caitlin Clark Introduced as All-Star for the First Time
Team USA vs. Team WNBA starting lineups
WNBA: Caitlin Clark, DeWanna Bonner, Jonquel Jones, Arike Ogunbowale, Nneka Ogwumike
UNITED STATES: Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd, Diana Taurasi
When is the WNBA All-Star Game?
The WNBA All-Stars will face Team USA on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
How to Watch the WNBA All-Star Game
The match will be broadcast on ABC.
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How to Stream the WNBA All-Star Game
You can Stream with a free trial of FUBO.
Caitlin Clark isn’t nervous about her first All-Star game
It may be Caitlin Clark’s first WNBA All-Star Game, but she’s not nervous.
“I don’t get nervous before a game. I think it’s just the excitement,” Clark told the media before Saturday’s game. “There’s been some preparation to finally get to the game because you’re here all weekend and you have so many events to attend and so much to do. Everyone is ready to play.”
Clark predicts a “really competitive” competition.
“That’s what I’m looking forward to,” she added. “Both teams are competing, but we also want to help them improve and prepare for Paris.”
Caitlin Clark and her Fever teammates make a stylish entrance
Team USA coach expects team to face ‘adversity’
Cheryl Reeve, the coach of the Minnesota Lynx and the U.S. women’s national team, said she expects a hard-fought game Saturday when Team USA takes on Team WNBA.
“This is a great game for American basketball because of the level of competition. We’re going to face adversity in this game,” she said Saturday. “I don’t think you can reach your greatest heights without facing adversity. You have to go through that first. This game is going to give us that because of the level of talent that exists on both teams.”
Cheryl Miller says WNBA team ‘wants to win’
Caitlin Clark may not be nervous, but her WNBA All-Star coach sure is. Cheryl Miller got candid about her butterflies in her stomach ahead of Saturday’s WNBA All-Star main event.
“First of all, I’m very nervous. I woke up nervous, went to bed nervous, took a nap and woke up nervous. But that’s what I love about this game… There’s nothing better than this afternoon,” Miller said. “(Team USA) wants to win. The fun is winning. We’re going to put out the best product we can.”
It’s a full-circle moment for Miller, who was the Phoenix Mercury’s first head coach and general manager from 1997-2000. She received a standing ovation at Footprint Center Friday night.
Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese on the same team for once
Or Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese go for it, attention follows.
The rivalry between Clark and Reese captivated the nation during their college years at Iowa and LSU, respectively, and the well-deserved hype followed both superstars into the WNBA.
Clark, who was drafted first overall by the Indiana Fever, and Reese, who was selected seventh overall by the Chicago Sky, have been pitted against each other throughout their careers, both by their devoted fans and in the media, but a white flag has been temporarily raised. They have both been named to the 2024 WNBA All-Star Team, becoming the first pair of rookies to earn a nod since 2014. After years of clashing, Clark and Reese will team up for the first time in their careers.
“Everyone can wear their ‘get along’ shirts together for at least one day,” Reese joked Friday. “I can’t wait.”
Read Cydney Henderson’s story.
Who scored the most points in the WNBA All-Star Game?
Seattle Storm’s Jewell Loyd scored 31 points in the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game, breaking Maya Moore and Kelsey Plum’s previous record of 30 points set in 2015 and 2022, respectively.
Who was voted MVP of last year’s WNBA All-Star Game?
Jewell Loyd was named MVP of last year’s WNBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas after a game-high 31-point performance.
2024 WNBA All-Star Players Roster
WNBA Team
- DeWanna Bonner, Connecticut
- Aliyah Boston, Indiana
- Caitlin Clark, Indiana
- Allisha Gray, Atlanta
- Dearica Hamby, Los Angeles
- Brionna Jones, Connecticut
- Jonquel Jones, New York
- Kayla McBride, Minnesota
- Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana
- Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas
- Nneka Ogwumike, Seattle
- Angel Reese, Chicago
Team USA
- Napheesa Collier, Minnesota
- Kahleah Copper, Phoenix
- Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas
- Brittney Griner, Phoenix
- Sabrina Ionescu, New York
- Jewell Loyd, Seattle
- Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas
- Breanna Stewart, New York
- Diana Taurasi, Phoenix
- Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut
- A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas
- Jackie Young, Las Vegas
Has this format been used before?
Yes, once before.
In 2021, before the Tokyo Olympics, the WNBA All-Stars faced Team USA, and the WNBA All-Stars won 93–85. Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale was named MVP after leading all players with 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
The U.S. team then won Olympic gold with a 90-75 victory over Japan at the Tokyo Games.
Allisha Gray Wins 3-Point Contest AND Skills Challenge
Allisha Gray of the Atlanta Dream swept the WNBA All-Star Games on Friday. After winning the skills challenge earlier in the night, she beat Jonquel Jones of the New York Liberty in the 3-point challenge to become the first person in WNBA history to win both games in the same season.
“It’s an incredible feeling. I still have $55,000 in my pocket,” Gray said, referring to the $55,000 bonus Aflac offers for each competition.
It all came down to the last three-point shot.
Gray and Jones both had hot and cold streaks in the final round. Gray finished with 22 points, which contributed to the fatigue of playing in both events. Jones had a chance to tie Gray’s score with her final serve, but she just missed the basket. Jones held her head high in disappointment as she finished with 21 points.
“(Jones) made me nervous, I’m not going to lie,” Gray admitted.
Diana Taurasi returns from injury
Taurasi returned against the Connecticut Sun on July 14, scoring six points and grabbing six rebounds in 25 minutes in a 96-69 road loss.
Closing out the first half of the season before the All-Star Game and Olympic break, Taurasi scored 18 points and had five assists in 28 minutes in a 96-87 win over the Washington Mystics on Tuesday.
Learn more about Scooby Axson here.
Caitlin Clark’s rise parallels Tiger’s early brilliance
One sporting career experiences a discouraging decline. The other experiences an exhilarating rise. Born in different centuries,Tiger Woods and Caitlin Clark are going in opposite directions.
Yet, although one is 26 years older than the other, they have much in common. It is as if their exciting careers are following parallel paths, a generation apart.
How many times in the past year and a half, since Clark’s rise to immense popularity, has the rush to buy tickets to see her or the national obsession with watching her on television made us think of someone else? And when we thought about it and decided who that person might be, wasn’t it Tiger?
To learn more about Christine Brennan, click here.
How much do WNBA All-Stars make?
It pays to play in the WNBA All-Star Game. Under the WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, All-Star Game participants each earn $2,575. The All-Star Game MVP receives an additional $5,150. Skills Competition and 3-Point Contest participants each receive $1,030, while the winners earn $2,575 from the league. Josh Peter
Team USA vs Team WNBA Predictions, Odds and Predictions
Team USA and a team of WNBA All-Stars face off Saturday night. Who has the best chance of winning?
Team USA is a 6.5-point favorite over Team WNBA in the WNBA All-Star Game odds, thanks toFanDuel Sports Betting.
Team USA is -260 on the moneyline, while Team WNBA is +215.
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