The 2022

WNBA All-Star Game 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 ...

was an

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

game that was played on July 10, 2022 at

Wintrust Arena Wintrust Arena at McCormick Square, previously referred to as DePaul Arena or McCormick Place Events Center, is a 10,387-seat sports venue in the Near South Side community area of Chicago that opened in 2017. It is the current home court for ...

. The

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 2 ...

hosted the game and related events for the first time. The league also debuted a new, two-day fan event called "WNBA Live," which included interactive events as well as the All-Star teams' practice. This year also brought back the

Three-Point Contest The Three-Point Contest is a National Basketball Association (NBA) contest held on the Saturday before the annual All-Star Game as part of All-Star Weekend. The 2019 iteration of the contest involved ten participants. From its introduction in 19 ...

and Skills Competition, for the first time since

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

A'ja Wilson A'ja Riyadh Wilson (born August 8, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Wilson played for the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball, South Carolina ...

, of the

Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team play ...

was the overall leader in fan votes with 88,407, with

Breanna Stewart Breanna Mackenzie Stewart (born Baldwin; born August 27, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In high school, Stewart was the National Gatorade Player o ...

, of the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm competes in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was founded by Ginger Ackerl ...

, finishing in 2nd with 79,520 votes. Allie Quigley won the MTN Dew 3-Point Shootout for a WNBA and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

record 4th time.

Sabrina Ionescu Sabrina Elaine Ionescu (born December 6, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. She is the NCAA all- ...

and her high school partner and NC State commit, Zoe Brooks, won the Skills Challenge. Team Wilson defeated Team Stewart 132–112.

Kelsey Plum Kelsey Christine Plum (born August 24, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She won a WNBA championship in 2022, when she earned her first All-WNBA Fir ...

of the

scored 30 points to tie

Maya Moore Maya April Moore (born June 11, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx, who is currently on sabbatical. Naming her their inaugural Performer of the Year in 2017, ''Sports Illustrated'' called Moore the greates ...

for the All-Star Game record for points. She was named the MVP of the game. This was

's second time winning as team captain – moving herself to 2–0.

Rosters

Selection

On June 2, the WNBA announced that 2022 would similar roster selection process to the

2019 WNBA All-Star Game The 2019 WNBA All-Star Game was an exhibition game, exhibition basketball game played on July 27, 2019. The Las Vegas Aces hosted the WNBA All-Star Game for the first time. Rosters Selection On June 12, the WNBA announced that 2019 would simila ...

. Fans, WNBA players, head coaches, sports writers, and broadcasters would all be able to vote for All Stars. All groups could fill out a ballot of four guards and six front court players. Players and coaches could not vote for members of their own team. Voting began on June 3 at 2 p.m. ET and concluded on Monday, June 20 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The voting was weighted as follows: Players were not allowed to vote for their own teammates. The top 10 players receiving votes based on this weighting would be selected to the All-Star Game. These ten players would be deemed the starters. The starters were revealed on June 22, 2022. After the announcement of the starters, the WNBA's head coaches selected the 12 reserves. Coaches voted for three guards, five frontcourt players, and four players at either position regardless of conference. They could not vote for their own players. The reserves were announced on June 28, 2022. The top two vote-getters were captains of the two All-Star teams and selected their teams from the pool of 8 remaining starters and the 12 reserves. The captains drafted their respective rosters by selecting first from the remaining eight players in the pool of starters and then from the pool of 12 reserves.

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

broadcast the WNBA All-Star Team Selection Special on July 2, 2022.

Fan Vote Results

The following is the top 20 players based on fan voting alone.

Full Voting Results

The following are the overall scores for the Top 10 finishers – based on the results from all three voting groups. The fans votes was weighed at 50%, while votes from the media and players were weighed 25%. The players are sorted by their positions. The top four players at the guards and the top 6 players at the frontcourt positions were deemed the starters for the game.

Head coaches

The head coaches for the AT&T WNBA All-Star 2022 were the head coaches of the two teams regardless of conference with the best records following games on Friday, June 24. The head coach with the best record as of that date coached the team whose captain earned the most fan votes.

Becky Hammon Rebecca Lynn Hammon ( rus, links=no, Бекки Хэммон; born March 11, 1977) is an American-Russian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces of the Women’s National Basketball Associa ...

, coach of the

, and

James Wade James Martin Wade (born 6 April 1983) is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He became the youngest player to win a major PDC title, when he won the 2007 World Matchplay at the ...

, coach of the

, qualified to be the two head coaches for the 2022 All-Star Game on June 24, 2022. They earned the right to be the coaches as they guided their teams to the top two spots in the standings as of that date. This is Hammon and Wade's first time as head coaches in the All-Star game. Wade had previous been an assistant coach for the Western Conference Team in the

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

game.

All-Star Pool

The players for the All-Star Game were selected by the voting process described above. The starters for the game were announced on June 22, 2022, with

of the

and

of the

leading in fan votes. Those two were named captains for the game, along with Sue Bird of the

and

Sylvia Fowles Sylvia Shaqueria Fowles (born October 6, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. Fowles played for the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx during her career in the WNBA. She won the WNBA MVP Award in 2017 and the WNBA Defensive Pl ...

of the Minnesota Lynx who were named additional captains. This was Wilson and Stewarts fourth time being named to the All-Star team, while Fowles was named for the eighth time and Bird was named for the thirteenth time.

Candace Parker Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los An ...

of the

and

Nneka Ogwumike Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike (; born July 2, 1990) is a Nigerian-American basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), after being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2012 WNBA Draft. S ...

of the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

were named to the starting frontcourt, both earning their seventh all-star appearance. Jonquel Jones of the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established ...

rounded out the frontcourt, earning her fourth all-star selection. In the backcourt,

of the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was f ...

and Jackie Young of the

were named to the starting lineup, each earning their first all-star selection.

Brittney Griner Brittney Yevette Griner (; born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's natio ...

was named an honorary All-Star and starter. The All-Star Game reserves were announced on June 28, 2022. The reserves at the guard position included

Courtney Vandersloot Courtney Vandersloot (born February 8, 1989) is an American and Hungarian basketball point guard for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Sopron Basket in the Hungarian National Championship. The third ...

of the

, her fourth selection;

Kahleah Copper Kahleah Copper (born August 28, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted by the Washington Mystics in 2016, and was traded to the Chicago Sky th ...

of the

, her second selection;

Ariel Atkins Ariel Atkins (born July 30, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). After a four-year college career with the Texas Longhorns, Atkins was drafted 7th ove ...

of the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...

, her second selection; Skylar Diggins-Smith, her sixth selection;

Arike Ogunbowale Arike Ogunbowale (born March 2, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, before being drafted ...

of the

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American basketball team based in Arlington, Texas. The Wings play in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is owned by a group which is led by chairman Bill Cameron. Greg ...

, her second selection;

Jewell Loyd Jewell Loyd (born October 5, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for Perfumerias Avenida of Spain's Liga Femenina de Baloncesto and the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted first o ...

of the

, her fourth selection; and Rhyne Howard of the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...

; her first selection. The reserves at the frontcourt position included

Dearica Hamby Dearica Marie Hamby (born November 6, 1993) is an American basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). College During her senior year Hamby averaged 20.3 points, the highest scoring average ...

of the

, her second selection; Natasha Howard, her second selection;

Brionna Jones Brionna Jones (born December 18, 1995) is an American professional basketball center for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and currently with USK Prague of the Czech Women's Basketball League. She was draft ...

of the

, her second selection;

Emma Meesseman Emma Meesseman (born 13 May 1993) is a Belgian professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the EuroLeague Women and the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). After playing basketball in Belgium, Meesseman was ...

of the

, her second selection; and

Alyssa Thomas Alyssa Thomas (born April 12, 1992) is an American professional basketball forward for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Maryland Terrapins. The New York Liberty draft ...

of the

, her third selection. Griner named an Honorary All-Star Starter.

All-Star Selections per team

Draft

The WNBA-All Star draft took place on July 2, 2022.

and

were named captain respectively as they received the most fan votes. Sue Bird and

were named honorary All-Star captains. Bird was assigned to Team Wilson, while Fowles to Team Stewart. The first six players to be drafted were starters. The next 12 players, chosen by WNBA head coaches were then drafted. Wilson began the draft of the starters due to her having the most votes, while Stewart began the draft of the reserves. * Following the Draft, Team Wilson traded

to Team Stewart for

. Team Stewart traded Sue Bird to Team Wilson for

Final rosters

Game

Rule Changes

The WNBA put in three special rules for the 2022 All-Star Game: * 4-Point Shot **Four circles – two at each end of the court – were placed above the current three-point line * 20-Second Shot Clock * Automatic Points for Free-Throw Attempts: “No Free-Throws”

Three-Point Contest & Skills Challenge

On June 2, 2022, it was announced that there would be a Three-Point Contest and Skills Challenge on July 9, the night before the All-Star game. It was televised on

in the USA and across the TSN Network in Canada. This is the first time since 2019 that it was held. The Three-Point Contest was sponsored by

Mountain Dew Mountain Dew, stylized as Mtn Dew, is a carbonated soft drink brand produced and owned by PepsiCo. The original formula was invented in 1940 by Tennessee beverage bottlers Barney and Ally Hartman. A revised formula was created by Bill Brid ...

. The 3-PT Contest and WNBA Skills Challenge took place indoors at

McCormick Place McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America. It consists of four interconnected buildings and one indoor arena sited on and near the shore of Lake Michigan, about south of downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. McCor ...

for a special audience of participants in the Girls Nike Nationals

Three-Point Contest

The contestants for the Mountain Dew 3-Point Contest were announced on July 7, 2022. 3-Time Champion Allie Quigley was the only non-All-Star to be in the competition. The Three-Point Shootout is a two-round, timed competition in which five shooting locations are positioned around the three-point arc. Four racks contain four WNBA balls (each worth one point) and one “money” ball (worth two points). The fifth station is a special “all money ball” rack, which each participant can place at any of the five locations. Every ball on this rack is worth two points. Two balls were placed on pedestals between racks 2 and 3 and racks 3 and 4 in “THE DEW ZONE™”. Each of these balls is worth three points. The players have one minute and ten seconds to shoot as many of the 27 balls as they can. The three competitors with the highest scores in the first round advance to the championship round.

Skills Challenge

On July 8, 2022, the WNBA announced the eight competitors that would be involved in the Skills Challenge. The Skills Challenge were teams consisting of one WNBA player and one athlete from the Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) participating in the 2022 Nike Nationals. The teams competed head-to-head in an obstacle course relay competition that tests dribbling, passing, agility and shooting skills. A three-round, bracket-style event, the Skills Challenge featured two teams competing simultaneously on an identical course. The team that successfully completes the course first shall be deemed the winner of that matchup and advance to the next round of the competition.

Skills Challenge Bracket

References

{{NBA on ABC

Sports competitions in Chicago Basketball in Chicago Women's National Basketball Association All-Star Game

2020s in Chicago 2022 in sports in Illinois