Overview of the 2018 WNBA All-Star Festivities for Fans
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What a way to kick off the #WNBAAllStar weekend at the @jrnba #WNBA clinic! #WatchMeWork pic.twitter.com/FDAGHfingy
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 26, 2018
All-Star Rosters || Three-point Contest Participants || Current WNBA Standings || All-Star Rosters By Position & Starters || Jerseys || Nike All-Star Footwear || All-Star Game History
Last September, the WNBA announced that the Minnesota Lynx would host the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game. Fans will enjoy watching the event in a newly renovated Target Center, the home of the league’s defending champion, on Saturday, July 28.
The actual bid to host this season’s All-Star Game came via a partnership between the Lynx and Sports Minneapolis. It will be the first time in the 20-year history of the franchise that it has hosted All-Star festivities. The Lynx has four players set to participate in the game for the second straight year and a WNBA-record fourth time. No other team in WNBA history has had four or more representatives more than once in the event.
All-Stars from other teams began to stream into Minneapolis Thursday to participate in events including a youth clinic hosted by the league, the Jr. NBA and Spalding. The event was closed to the public and only open to participants and credentialed media.
Fans can get involved in All-Star activities beginning today with an open practice at the Target Center at 1 p.m. CT. Only fans with tickets for the All-Star Game can attend the open practice. Team Delle Donne will practice first followed by Team Parker.
Earlier in the day, the league and Kaiser Permanente will host a fitness clinic for local kids, an event closed to the public.
The evening kicks off with the WNBA Orange Carpet at 5:30 p.m CT at the Target Center. Players will arrive for an All-Star Reception on an orange carpet. The reception, like most of the other events, outside of the actual game on Saturday, is closed to fans as well as media except for ESPN TV talent.
On TV, ESPN2 will televise an hour-long All-Star Friday Night special at 9 p.m. ET, in which the team captains, the Los Angeles Sparks’ Candace Parker and Washington Mystics’ Elena Delle Donne, discuss their starting lineups.
The actual WNBA All-Star Game will tip off at 2:30 p.m. CT/3:30 p.m ET on Saturday and will be televised on ABC. Ryan Ruocco and Rebecca Lobo will call the game along with reporters Holly Rowe and LaChina Robinson on the sideline. Audio will be available on SiriusXM NBA Radio. Doors for fans will open at 1 p.m. CT. Verizon, which became the WNBA’s leaguewide marquee partner in 2016, will serve as the title partner of the All-Star Game for the second consecutive year.
Rosters
| Team Delle Donne | Team Parker |
| Captain: Elena Delle Donne (Washington Mystics) | Captain: Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks) |
| Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx) | Liz Cambage (Dallas Wings) |
| Sue Bird (Seattle Storm) | Tina Charles (New York Liberty) |
| DeWanna Bonner (Phoenix Mercury) | Skylar Diggins-Smith (Dallas Wings) |
| Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota Lynx) | Chelsea Gray (Los Angeles Sparks) |
| Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury) | Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm) |
| Kayla McBride (Las Vegas Aces) | Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream) |
| Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm) | Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx) |
| Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury) | Chiney Ogwumike (Connecticut Sun) |
| Kristi Toliver (Washington Mystics) | Rebekkah Brunson (Minnesota Lynx) |
| A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces) | Allie Quigley (Chicago Sky) |
- Starters:
Team Delle Donne: Elena Delle Donne, Sylvia Fowles, Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi
Team Parker: Candace Parker, Liz Cambage, Maya Moore, Chelsea Gray, Angel McCoughtry - Before the game, at 1:30 p.m. CT, league president Borders will have a Q&A with media.
- Maya Moore was the top vote-getter in the final ballot count for the All-Star Game while Delle Donne was second, making them automatic choices for team captains. However, Moore declined to be a team captain and league president Lisa Borders appointed Parker to take over. Parker was third in the All-Star vote tally.
- Minnesota Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson replaced Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike on Team Parker. Ogwumike is sidelined due to illness. Borders selected Brunson as the replacement.
- Seattle Storm head coach Dan Hughes (Team Delle Donne) and Phoenix Mercury head coach Sandy Brondello (Team Parker) are the coaches for the All-Star Game. The selection was based on the two head coaches whose teams had the best records through games on Friday, July 13.
- The year’s game will be the ninth All-Star event broadcast on ABC (there was no All-Star Game in 2016 due to the Olympics). Last year, the Lynx’s Moore led the Western Conference to a 130-121 victory and she repeated as All-Star Game MVP (2015).
At halftime, six All-Stars are set to participate in the Three-Point Contest. For the second consecutive year, $10,000 will be donated to a charity of the winner’s choice in support of her work in the community.
Three-point Contest Participants
| Player, Team | Position | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% |
| Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm | G | 48 | 142 | 33.8 |
| Kayla McBride, Las Vegas Aces | G | 36 | 88 | 40.9 |
| Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever | G | 58 | 167 | 34.7 |
| Renee Montgomery, Atlanta Dream | G | 53 | 143 | 37.1 |
| Allie Quigley, Chicago Sky | G | 57 | 131 | 43.5 |
| Kristi Toliver, Washington Mystics | G | 52 | 149 | 34.9 |
(Statistics through games played on Wednesday, July 25)
Following the conclusion of the All-Star break, regular season action will resume Tuesday, July 31 with three games: Washington at Atlanta, Chicago at Dallas and Seattle at Phoenix. The season continues through Aug. 19 and the playoffs begin on Aug. 21.
| RANK | TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | CONF | HOME | ROAD | L-10 | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Seattle Storm | 19 | 7 | 0.731 | – | 7-5 | 10-4 | 9-3 | 8-2 | W 1 |
| #2 | Atlanta Dream | 16 | 9 | 0.640 | 2.5 | 10-3 | 9-3 | 7-6 | 9-1 | W 8 |
| #3 | Minnesota Lynx | 15 | 10 | 0.600 | 3.5 | 8-4 | 8-5 | 7-5 | 6-4 | W 3 |
| #4 | Los Angeles Sparks | 15 | 11 | 0.577 | 4 | 7-6 | 8-6 | 7-5 | 4-6 | L 1 |
| #5 | Phoenix Mercury | 15 | 11 | 0.577 | 4 | 6-6 | 5-6 | 10-5 | 4-6 | L 3 |
| #6 | Dallas Wings | 14 | 11 | 0.560 | 4.5 | 6-8 | 9-4 | 5-7 | 7-3 | L 2 |
| #7 | Washington Mystics | 14 | 11 | 0.560 | 4.5 | 10-4 | 8-5 | 6-6 | 4-6 | L 1 |
| #8 | Connecticut Sun | 14 | 12 | 0.538 | 5 | 7-6 | 7-4 | 7-8 | 5-5 | W 2 |
| #9 | Las Vegas Aces | 12 | 13 | 0.480 | 6.5 | 4-9 | 6-6 | 6-7 | 7-3 | W 2 |
| #10 | Chicago Sky | 9 | 17 | 0.346 | 10 | 4-7 | 6-8 | 3-9 | 3-7 | W 1 |
| #11 | New York Liberty | 7 | 18 | 0.280 | 11.5 | 6-7 | 4-9 | 3-9 | 3-7 | L 4 |
| #12 | Indiana Fever | 3 | 23 | 0.115 | 16 | 1-11 | 1-12 | 2-11 | 2-8 | L 2 |
Team Delle Donne
Guards
- Seimone Augustus, Lynx (8th All-Star selection): This is the sixth consecutive All-Star nod for Augustus, who has earned all eight of her selections as a member of the Lynx.
- Sue Bird, Storm (11th All-Star selection): Bird, the WNBA’s career assists leader and Seattle’s career points leader, has played the second-most games (498) in league history and is poised to surpass DeLisha Milton-Jones (499) as the all-time leader in that category.
- Kayla McBride, Aces (2nd All-Star selection): McBride returns to the All-Star Game after a previous appearance in 2015, her second WNBA season.
- Diana Taurasi, Mercury (9th All-Star selection): Taurasi has been a starter in each of her eight previous All-Star Games.
- Kristi Toliver, Mystics (2nd All-Star selection): An All-Star for the first time as a member of the Mystics, Toliver represented the Sparks in the 2013 All-Star Game.
Frontcourt
- DeWanna Bonner, Mercury (2nd All-Star selection): Bonner, who sat out the 2017 season while pregnant with twins, was also an All-Star in 2015.
- Elena Delle Donne, Mystics (5th All-Star selection): Delle Donne has been selected to each All-Star Game played in her career, including three as a member of the Chicago Sky and the last two as a member of the Mystics. She recently became the fastest WNBA player to 3,000 points (148 games).
- Sylvia Fowles, Lynx (5th All-Star selection): The reigning regular-season and Finals MVP was voted to her second straight All-Star Game as a member of the Lynx. She previously represented the Sky three times.
- Brittney Griner, Mercury (5th All-Star selection): A two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2014, 2015), Griner has been named to each All-Star Game played in her career.
- Breanna Stewart, Storm (2nd All-Star selection): The fastest player in WNBA history to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds (55 games), Stewart is an All-Star for the second consecutive year.
- A’ja Wilson, Aces (1st All-Star selection): The only rookie selected to this year’s All-Star Game, Wilson is one of 13 No. 1 overall draft picks set to compete in Minneapolis. The others are Augustus, Bird, Charles, Loyd, McCoughtry, Moore, Chiney Ogwumike, Nneka Ogwumike, Parker, Stewart and Taurasi.
Team Parker
Guards
- Skylar Diggins-Smith, Wings (4th All-Star selection): Selected to the All-Star Game every year except her rookie season, Diggins-Smith will appear in Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018 alongside Delle Donne and Griner, fellow members of the famed “Three to See” WNBA Draft class of 2013.
- Chelsea Gray, Sparks (2nd All-Star selection): Gray, who helped lead the Sparks to the last two WNBA Finals, is an All-Star for the second year in a row.
- Jewell Loyd, Storm (1st All-Star selection): The 2015 WNBA Rookie of the Year is one of two first-time All-Star selections this year, joining Wilson.
- Allie Quigley, Sky (2nd All-Star selection): An All-Star for the second year in a row, the two-time WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year (2014 and 2015) won the Three-Point Contest at halftime of last year’s All-Star Game in Seattle.
Frontcourt
- Liz Cambage, Wings (2nd All-Star selection): After a four-year absence from the WNBA, the Australian native is an All-Star for the first time since 2011. On July 17, she scored a WNBA-record 53 points to go with 10 rebounds and five blocked shots in Dallas’ 104-87 home victory over New York.
- Tina Charles, Liberty (6th All-Star selection): Charles has been voted to each All-Star Game played during her career, and she was a starter in 2011, 2015 and 2017.
- Angel McCoughtry, Dream (5th All-Star selection): Atlanta’s career leader in games, points, field goals, assists and steals has started the All-Star Game four times.
- Maya Moore, Lynx, (6th All-Star selection): The MVP of the last two WNBA All-Star Games (2015, 2017), Moore is the All-Star Game record-holder for career scoring average (20.2 ppg) and points in a game (30 in 2015).
- Chiney Ogwumike, Sun (2nd All-Star selection): An All-Star as a rookie in 2014, Ogwumike returns to the All-Star Game after missing two of the previous three seasons due to injury.
- Rebekkah Brunson Lynx, replacement for Nneka Ogwumike, Sparks (5th All-Star selection): This will be Brunson’s second consecutive All-Star selection and fifth overall. A 15-year WNBA veteran, She has won a WNBA-record five championships, including four with Minnesota and one with Sacramento. She is the league’s career leader in rebounds. She joins three other Lynx teammates participating in the All-Star Game.
- Candace Parker, Sparks (5th All-Star selection): Parker is one of three players in WNBA history to earn regular-season MVP, Finals MVP and All-Star Game MVP honors, joining Moore and Lisa Leslie.
Jerseys
Shoes
Nike’s 2018 WNBA All-Star Game PE collection includes special colorways of the LEBRON 15, LEBRON Soldier XII, KD11, KYRIE 4, PG2, and the KOBE A.D. The palette of the shoes were inspired by Minnesota.
Per Nike:
Purple — the color of royalty, of the state’s football team, and of its musical hero — is consistent throughout the PE collection. The two-block divide reflects a play between the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The ripple pattern refers to the state’s vast number of lakes, as well as the waves being created in the modern women’s game.
“The All-Star shoes are fire across the board,” says four-time WNBA champion Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx. “I can’t wait to wear the KYRIE 4 and pay tribute to the land of 10,000 lakes.”
All-Star Game History
| Date | Location | Result |
| July 14, 1999 | Madison Square Garden (New York) | West 79, East 61 |
| July 17, 2000 | America West Arena (Phoenix) | West 73, East 61 |
| July 16, 2001 | TD Waterhouse Centre (Orlando, Fla.) | West 80, East 72 |
| July 15, 2002 | MCI Center (Washington) | West 81, East 76 |
| July 12, 2003 | Madison Square Garden (New York) | West 84, East 75 |
| July 9, 2005 | Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, Conn.) | West 122, East 99 |
| July 12, 2006 | Madison Square Garden (New York) | East 98, West 82 |
| July 15, 2007 | Verizon Center (Washington) | East 103, West 99 |
| July 25, 2009 | Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, Conn.) | West 130, East 118 |
| July 23, 2011 | AT&T Center (San Antonio) | East 118, West 113 |
| July 27, 2013 | Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, Conn.) | West 102, East 98 |
| July 19, 2014 | US Airways Center (Phoenix) | East 125, West 124 |
| July 25, 2015 | Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, Conn.) | West 117, East 112 |
| July 22, 2017 | KeyArena (Seattle, Wash.) | West 130, East 121 |
*In 2010, in advance of the FIBA World Championship, and in 2004, prior to the Athens Olympics, the U.S. Women’s National Team, comprised primarily of WNBA players, squared off against a team of WNBA stars in an exhibition match. No game was held in 2008, 2012 or 2016 prior to the Olympic Games in Beijing, London and Rio, respectively.
