The Women's National Basketball Association All-Star Game, commonly referred to as the WNBA All-Star Game, is an annual exhibition basketball game played in the United States between the best players of the Western and Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
| Women's National Basketball Association All-Star Game | |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Annual |
| Inaugurated | 1999 |
| Most recent | 2024 (Phoenix) |
| Previous event | 2023 (Las Vegas) |
| Next event | 2025 (Indianapolis) |
| Participants | Eastern Conference and Western Conference All-Stars |
| Organized by | Women's National Basketball Association |
Structure
editEach conference is represented by a team of 12 players who are currently having the best seasons performance-wise around the league. The starters are determined by fans voting through internet ballots. The rest of the players are selected by league personnel including head coaches as well as media personalities. At the end of the game, an all-star game Most Valuable Player (MVP) is named, as decided by a panel of media members.
History
editIn 2004, the game was not played in its usual format due to the WNBA players competing in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. That year, the USA national team defeated a team of WNBA All-Stars 74–58 at Radio City Music Hall.[1][2] This game is officially considered to be an exhibition rather than an All-Star Game. The league also took a month-long break to accommodate players and coaches who would be participating in the summer games.
The tradition of not playing the WNBA All-Star Game during an Olympic year has continued in 2008, 2012, and 2016 (along with the tradition of taking a month-long break during the regular season). The 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the same reason, the beginning of the 2020 WNBA season has been delayed. The league later announced a revised 22-game schedule, but no all-star game was played.
No official All-Star Game was held in 2010. Instead, there was an exhibition game matching the USA national team against a WNBA All-Star team, with Team USA winning 99–72 at Mohegan Sun Arena.[3]
The Western Conference leads the overall series 10–4.
All-Star Game results
edit| Eastern Conference (4 wins) | Western Conference (10 wins) |
|---|
| Year | Result | Host arena | Host city | Game MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | West 79, East 61[4][5] | Madison Square Garden | New York, New York | Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks |
| 2000 | West 73, East 61[6][7] | America West Arena | Phoenix, Arizona | Tina Thompson, Houston Comets |
| 2001 | West 80, East 72[8] | TD Waterhouse Centre | Orlando, Florida | Lisa Leslie (2), Los Angeles Sparks (2) |
| 2002 | West 81, East 76[9] | MCI Center | Washington, D.C. | Lisa Leslie (3), Los Angeles Sparks (3) |
| 2003 | West 84, East 75[10] | Madison Square Garden (2) | New York, New York (2) | Nikki Teasley, Los Angeles Sparks (4) |
| 2004 | The Game at Radio City | |||
| 2005 | West 122, East 99[11] | Mohegan Sun Arena | Uncasville, Connecticut | Sheryl Swoopes, Houston Comets (2) |
| 2006 | East 98, West 82[12] | Madison Square Garden (3) | New York, New York (3) | Katie Douglas, Connecticut Sun |
| 2007 | East 103, West 99[13] | Verizon Center | Washington, D.C. (2) | Cheryl Ford, Detroit Shock |
| 2008 | No game due to the 2008 Summer Olympics | |||
| 2009 | West 130, East 118[14] | Mohegan Sun Arena (2) | Uncasville, Connecticut (2) | Swin Cash, Seattle Storm |
| 2010 | Stars at the Sun | |||
| 2011 | East 118, West 113[15] | AT&T Center | San Antonio, Texas | Swin Cash (2), Seattle Storm (2) |
| 2012 | No game due to the 2012 Summer Olympics | |||
| 2013 | West 102, East 98 | Mohegan Sun Arena (3) | Uncasville, Connecticut (3) | Candace Parker, Los Angeles Sparks (5) |
| 2014 | East 125, West 124 (OT) | US Airways Center (2) | Phoenix, Arizona (2) | Shoni Schimmel, Atlanta Dream |
| 2015 | West 117, East 112 | Mohegan Sun Arena (4) | Uncasville, Connecticut (4) | Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx |
| 2016 | No game due to the 2016 Summer Olympics | |||
| 2017 | West 130, East 121 | KeyArena | Seattle, Washington | Maya Moore (2), Minnesota Lynx (2) |
| 2018 | Team Parker 119, Team Delle Donne 112 | Target Center | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Maya Moore (3), Minnesota Lynx (3) |
| 2019 | Team Wilson 129, Team Delle Donne 126 | Mandalay Bay Events Center | Las Vegas, Nevada | Erica Wheeler, Indiana Fever |
| 2020 | No game due to the 2020 Summer Olympics, which was later postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2021 | Team WNBA 93, Team USA 85 | Michelob Ultra Arena (2) | Las Vegas, Nevada (2) | Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas Wings (2) |
| 2022 | Team Wilson 134, Team Stewart 112 | Wintrust Arena | Chicago, Illinois | Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces |
| 2023 | Team Stewart 143, Team Wilson 127 | Michelob Ultra Arena (3) | Las Vegas, Nevada (3) | Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm (3) |
| 2024 | Team WNBA 117, Team USA 109 | Footprint Center (3) | Phoenix, Arizona (3) | Arike Ogunbowale (2), Dallas Wings (3) |
| 2025 | Gainbridge Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, Indiana | ||
- Seven WNBA cities haven't been selected to host the All-Star Game yet: Atlanta, Dallas, Indianapolis (In 2025), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, and Portland.
Three-Point Contest
editThe Three-Point Contest, formerly referred to as the Three-Point Shootout, was held during the All-Star Game event from 2006 to 2010, and then again from 2017 to the present.
| ^ | Denotes players who are still active |
| * | Elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame |
| Player (#) | Denotes the number of times the player has won |
| Team (#) | Denotes the number of times a player from this team has won |
| Location (#) | Denotes the number of times a location has hosted the competition |
- 1 All-time record score for a WNBA or NBA Three-Point Contest, surpassing the NBA record of 31 points set by Stephen Curry in Atlanta (2021), which Tyrese Haliburton equaled in Salt Lake City (2023). However, Ionescu used a smaller WNBA regulation ball to set the record. Ionescu also competed with Curry in a head-to-head shootout at the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, with both players shooting from the NBA 3-point line but using WNBA and NBA balls, respectively.[16]
Three Point Contest champions by franchise
| No. | Franchise | Last win |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Chicago Sky | 2022 |
| 1 | Atlanta Dream | 2024 |
| 1 | New York Liberty | 2023 |
| 1 | Connecticut Sun | 2019 |
| 1 | Indiana Fever | 2010 |
| 1 | San Antonio Silver Stars | 2009 |
| 1 | Washington Mystics | 2007 |
| 1 | Houston Comets | 2006 |
Skills Challenge
editThe WNBA introduced the Dribble, Dish & Swish Challenge starting during the 2003 WNBA All-Star Game.[17] It became renamed to the Skills Challenge was held during the All-Star Game event during 2006–2007, 2010, 2019, and 2022-2024. The most recent Skills Challenge rules were "a classic obstacle course format that will challenge players' abilities in each key facet of the game: dribbling, passing and shooting. In the first round, each player will maneuver around the course as fast as possible, and the players with the two fastest times will advance to the final round. There, they'll repeat the course, and the player with the fastest time in the final round will receive the trophy."[18]
| ^ | Denotes players who are still active |
| * | Elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame |
| Player (#) | Denotes the number of times the player has won |
| Team (#) | Denotes the number of times a player from this team has won |
| Location (#) | Denotes the number of times a location has hosted the competition |
See also
editNotes
edit
- ^ "USA BASKETBALL 74, WNBA ALL". ESPN. Archived from the original on August 26, 2004. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ "Fowles' third quarter helps Team USA power past WNBA All-Stars". ESPN. July 10, 2010. Archived from the original on July 13, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ Hays, Graham (July 9, 2010). "Win a good start for Team USA". ESPN. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ "1999 WNBA All-Star Game: Box Score". WNBA.COM. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ "1999 WNBA All-Star Game Notes". WNBA.COM. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ "2000 WNBA All-Star Game: Box Score". WNBA.COM. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ "2000 WNBA All-Star Game Notes". WNBA.COM. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ Rubinstein, Barry (July 16, 2001). "2001 WNBA All-Star Game Recap". WNBA.COM. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ "2002 WNBA All-Star Game Recap". WNBA.COM. July 25, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ "Teasley Keeps MVP Trophy in the Sparks Family". WNBA.COM. July 25, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ "West wins highest-scoring All-Star Game by largest margin". WNBA.COM. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ "Douglas Shines Bright as East Notch First Victory". WNBA.COM. July 25, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ "CFord Leads East Past West in All-Star Thriller". WNBA.COM. July 25, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ "Cash sets scoring record in All-Star game as West prevails". WNBA.COM. July 25, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
- ^ "Katie Douglas hits key 3-pointer to lift WNBA East All-Stars". ESPN. July 24, 2011. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
- ^ Philippou, Alexa (July 14, 2023). "Sabrina Ionescu scores record 37 points to win WNBA 3-point contest". ESPN. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ a b "WNBA Names Skills Challenge and 3-Point Shootout Participants for All-Star Tuesday". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
- ^ Maloney, Jack. "2024 WNBA All Star Skills Challenge: Schedule, start time, events, participants for 3-Point Contest, format". cbssports.com. CBS Sports. Retrieved July 20, 2024.