Sue Bird Flies To 13th WNBA All-Star Game, Brittney Griner Named Honorary Starter

By Barry Janoff

UPDATED July 7, 2022: The 2022 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game scheduled for July 10 in Chicago (ABC), head coaches and rosters:

Becky Hammon of the Las Vegas Aces will be head coach for Team Aja Wilson, James Wade of the host Chicago Sky will be head coach for Team Breanna Stewart.

Britney Grinner, being detained in Russia, was named an honorary starter.

Team Wilson
* A’ja Wilson Co-Captain Las Vegas Aces
* Sylvia Fowles Co-Captain Seattle Storm
* Candace Parker Chicago Sky
* Kelsey Plum Las Vegas Aces
* Sabrina Ionescu New York Liberty
Rhyne Howard Atlanta Dream
Dearica Hamby Las Vegas Aces
Courtney Vandersloot Chicago Sky
Ariel Atkins Washington Mystics
Brionna Jones Connecticut Sun
Natasha Howard New York Liberty
*Starters

Team Stewart
* Breanna Stewart Co-Captain Seattle Storm
* Sue Bird Co-Captain Seattle Storm
* Jackie Young Las Vegas Aces
* Jonquel Jones Connecticut Sun
* Nneka Ogwumike Los Angeles Sparks
Jewell Loyd Seattle Storm
Kahleah Copper Chicago Sky
Skylar Diggins-Smith Phoenix Mercury
Alyssa Thomas Connecticut Sun
Arike Ogunbowale Dallas Wings
Emma Meesseman Chicago Sky
* Starters

UPDATED June 22, 2022: When starters for the 2022 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game were revealed today, Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird, a four-time WNBA champion and the league’s career assists leader — who plans to retire after the season — extended her record number of All-Star selections to 13,

Bird, joins four Kia WNBA MVPs: 2021 MVP Connecticut Sun forward Jonquel Jones, and former MVPs Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles, Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson and Seattle forward Breanna Stewart.

Ten players — four guards and six frontcourt players — were selected by fans, current WNBA players and media to start in AT&T WNBA All-Star 2022.

Wilson and Stewart received the most fan votes — 88,407 and 79,520, respectively — and are the two All-Star Game captains.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert also named Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner — who has been detained in Russia since February who was selected to seven prior AT&T WNBA All-Star Games — a honorary All-Star and starter.

“During each season of Brittney’s career in which there has been an All-Star Game, she has been selected as an All-Star,” said Engelbert via the WNBA.

“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.”

AT&T All-Star Game starters in the frontcourt also include Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike and Chicago Sky forward-center Candace Parker.

Starting guards, in addition to Bird, are the New York Liberty Sabrina Ionescu and Las Vegas Aces teammates Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young.

The Top Five in fan voting also included Plum (68,678), Parker (66,462) and Delle Donne (45,876).

The 12 reserves for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2022 will be selected by the league’s head coaches, to be named June 28.

Co-captains will select their respective All-Star rosters irregardless of Conference during ESPN’s broadcast of the WNBA All-Star Team Selection Special July 2, choosing first from the remaining pool of eight starters and then from the pool of 12 reserves.

UPDATED June 10, 2022: The WNBA has unveiled the first round of fan returns for 2022 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago’s Wintrust Arena  (July 10, ABC).

Fans will account for 50% of the vote, while the players and media panel will account for 25% each.

Top Ten WNBA Fan Votes as of June 10:

• A’ja Wilson, Frontcourt (LVA) 21,688
• Breanna Stewart, Frontcourt (SEA) 20,866
• Candace Parker, Frontcourt (CHI) 17,475
• Kelsey Plum, Guard (LVA) 17,158
• Elena Delle Donne, Frontcourt (WSH) 13,626
• Sylvia Fowles, Frontcourt (MIN) 13,272
• Jackie Young, Guard (LVA) 12,222
• Nneka Ogwumike, Frontcourt (LAS) 10,933
• Sue Bird, Guard (SEA) 9,299
• Jewell Loyd, Guard (SEA) 9,268

June 3, 2022: The WNBA has opened voting for its 2022 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game, scheduled to take place in Chicago’s Wintrust Arena, July 10 (ABC), hosted by the league’s defending champion Sky.

The league said the All-Star Game would be the the centerpiece of a weekend of  WNBA activities, anchored by a new new, two-day, “WNBA Live” in McCormick Place, which will also host the 2022 Nike Tournament of Champions and the Girls Nike Nationals.

Fan voting for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2022 runs now through June 20 (11:59 PM ET).

Fans will account for 50% of the vote, while all current players and a media panel will account for 25% each.

Players and media panelists will be able to complete one ballot, featuring four guards and six frontcourt players.

People are able to vote for WNBA All-Stars via WNBA.com, the WNBA App and Twitter.

After all votes are tallied, players will be ranked by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups — fan votes, player votes and media votes.

Each player’s score will be calculated by averaging their weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes, according to the league.

The four guards and six frontcourt players with the best score will be named as starters for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2022. Fan voting will serve as the tiebreaker for players in a position group with the same score.

The captains will be the two All-Star starters who receive the most fan votes.

According to the WNBA, the head coaches for the AT&T WNBA All-Star 2022 will be the head coaches of the two teams regardless of conference with the best records following games on June 24.

The head coach with the best record as of that date will coach the team whose captain earned the most fan votes.

The ten All-Star starters, including the two captains, will be revealed on June 22.

“WNBA Live” was decribed as an interactive, indoor-outdoor event that will “provide fans an opportunity to experience the intersection of the WNBA, entertainment and pop culture.”

The WNBA 2022 MTN DEW 3-Point Contest and WNBA Skills Challenge will also take place in McCormick Place on July 9 (ESPN).

The league said more details regarding ‘WNBA Live’ would be unveiled prior to the event.

“The WNBA is excited to bring AT&T WNBA All-Star 2022 and an innovative new ‘WNBA Live’ event to Chicago, a city that showed such electric support for the Chicago Sky and the WNBA throughout last season and especially during the WNBA Finals presented by YouTube TV,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said via the league.

“We are thrilled to turn AT&T WNBA All-Star 2022 into a weekend-long event that will give WNBA fans incredible opportunities to engage with our brand and partners who have stepped up to support the WNBA.”

The 2019 and 2021 All-Star Games were held in Las Vegas. The league cancelled its 2020 All-Star Game due to COVID-19 protocols.

WNBA All-Star Game 2022 Will Play in Chicago

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