WNBA announces All-Star Game starters, honors Brittney Griner originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The WNBA named the 10 players who will start in the 2022 All-Star Game.
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Headlining the group are four co-captains: Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird, Storm forward Breanna Stewart, Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson and Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles. Connecticut Sun center Jonquel Jones, Chicago Sky forward/center Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike, New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, Aces guard Kelsey Plum and Aces guard Jackie Young are the remaining starters.
Bird, who announced she will be retiring after the season, earned her 13th All-Star selection, the most in league history. Fowles, who also announced that this will be her final WNBA season, has the second-most All-Star nods among this year’s starters with eight. Parker and Ogwumike each have seven, while Stewart, Wilson and Jones each received their fourth All-Star nod. Ionescu, Plum and Young will be making their All-Star debuts.
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Along with the 10 players who will be on the court to start the game in Chicago, the WNBA announced an honorary All-Star starter in Brittney Griner. The seven-time All-Star has been detained in Russia since Feb. 17.
“During each season of Brittney’s career in which there has been an All-Star Game, she has been selected as an All-Star,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a press release. “It is not difficult to imagine that if BG were here with us this season, she would once again be selected and would, no doubt, show off her incredible talents. So, it is only fitting that she be named as an honorary starter today and we continue to work on her safe return to the U.S.”
For the game, Bird will be a captain alongside Wilson and Stewart will be paired with Fowles. The two teams will draft from the remaining starters and reserves in an “All-Star Team Selection Special” on Saturday, July 2. The 12 reserves will be announced a few days earlier on Tuesday, June 28.
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The All-Star Game will use the draft format for the third time since moving away from East-West. The first two All-Star contests featuring drafts occurred in 2018 and 2019. The 2020 event was canceled and the 2021 All-Star Game saw Team WNBA beat Team USA 93-83 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
The All-Star Game will tip-off from Wintrust Arena in Chicago at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 10.
