With the starters and co-captains set for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2022, the 12 reserves who will play alongside them July 10 in Chicago have been announced.
Per WNBA, the all-star guards include the Chicago Sky’s Kahleah Copper and Courtney Vandersloot; the Washington Mystics’ Ariel Atkins in her second all-star game; the Phoenix Mercury’s Skylar Diggins-Smith, making her sixth all-star appearance; the Atlanta Dream’s rookie standout Rhyne Howard; the Seattle Storm’s Jewell Loyd with her fourth selection and the Dallas Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale, also back for her second appearance.
Representing the forwards are Las Vegas Aces’ second-time all-star Dearica Hamby; the New York Liberty’s Natasha Howard with her second selection; the Chicago Sky’s Emma Meesseman, also in her second all-star game and the Connecticut Sun’s Brionna Jones and Alyssa Thomas, each with a second appearance.
As we previously reported at The Root, Las Vegas Aces 2020 MVP A’ja Wilson will co-captain with four-time champion Sue Bird as they face off against a team led by 2018 MVP Breanna Stewart and 2017 WNBA MVP Sylvia Fowles. Team Wilson will be coached by the Las Vegas Aces’ Becky Hammon, while Team Stewart is coached by the Chicago Sky’s James Wade,
Copper, Meesseman, and Vandersloot join their superstar teammate Candace Parker. The star-studded roster of starters also includes reigning MVP Jonquel Jones; first time all-star Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty; the Las Vegas Aces’ dynamic duo Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum, also in their first all-star game and the Los Angeles Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike, making her seventh all-star appearance.
In a show of support for their friend and teammate, Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner has been named an honorary all-star this year. The WNBA champion has been wrongfully detained in Russia since Feb. 17. She was arrested at a Moscow airport when police said they found vape cartridges containing hash oil in her luggage. After having her detainment extended several times, the two-time Olympic gold medalist’s trial is set to begin Friday, July 1.
The captains will choose their all-star teams in a draft airing Saturday, July 2 at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT on ESPN.
AT&T WNBA All-Star 2022 airs Sunday, July 10 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on ABC.