The 2022 WNBA All-Star Game is set for this Sunday, July 10, at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, home of the defending WNBA champion Chicago Sky.
It marks the first time that Chicago will host the WNBA All-Star festivities, which includes a 3-point contest and skills challenge on Saturday and concludes Sunday with the 18th WNBA All-Star Game featuring a matchup between Team Wilson, captained by the Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson, and Team Stewart, led by Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm. Making their last turn as All-Stars are Sylvia Fowles and Sue Bird, both of whom announced they’ll retire at the end of this season and are serving as co-captains in Chicago.
How to watch the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game and 3-Point Contest
The 2022 WNBA All-Star Game will air on ABC at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 10, from Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The WNBA 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge will air on ESPN at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 9.
Rosters for the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game
The league returned to the captain’s picks format for the 2022 edition of the WNBA All-Star Game, with Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson and the Seattle Storm’s Breanna Stewart serving as captains after receiving the most fan votes. Eight-time All-Star and Sky center Sylvia Fowles and 13-time All-Star and Storm guard Sue Bird were picked by the league as co-captains, to honor the retiring legends. After a trade during the All-Star Draft, Fowles was paired with Wilson, while Bird was paired with Stewart.
Wilson had the first overall pick and chose hometown heroine and six-time All-Star Candace Parker, while Stewart selected Aces’ guard and first-time All-Star Jackie Young with her first choice. Team Wilson will be coached by Becky Hammon and the Aces staff, while Team Stewart will be led James Wade and the Sky staff.
Team A’ja Wilson (head coach Becky Hammon)
STARTERS | ||||||||
| Player | Team | Position | Height | Birthdate | College/Country | WNBA years experience | All-Star Games | All-Star Pick No. (*denotes trade) |
| Sabrina Ionescu | New York Liberty | Guard | 5-11 | 12/6/97 | Oregon | 2 | 1 | 6* |
| Sylvia Fowles | Minnesota Lynx | Frontcourt | 6-6 | 10/6/85 | LSU | 14 | 8 | co-captain* |
| Candace Parker | Chicago Sky | Frontcourt | 6-4 | 4/19/86 | Tennessee | 14 | 7 | 1 |
| Kelsey Plum | Las Vegas Aces | Guard | 5-8 | 8/24/94 | Washington | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| A’ja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces | Frontcourt | 6-4 | 8/8/96 | South Carolina | 4 | 4 | captain |
RESERVES | ||||||||
| Ariel Atkins | Washington Mystics | Guard | 5-8 | 7/30/96 | Texas | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| Dearica Hamby | Las Vegas Aces | Frontcourt | 6-3 | 11/6/93 | Wake Forest | 7 | 2 | 10 |
| Natasha Howard | New York Liberty | Frontcourt | 6-2 | 9/2/91 | Florida State | 8 | 2 | 18 |
| Rhyne Howard | Atlanta Dream | Guard | 6-2 | 4/29/00 | Kentucky | rookie | 1 | 8 |
| Brionna Jones | Connecticut Sun | Frontcourt | 6-3 | 12/18/95 | Maryland | 5 | 2 | 16 |
| Courtney Vandersloot | Chicago Sky | Guard | 5-8 | 2/8/89 | Gonzaga | 11 | 4 | 12 |
Team Stewart (head coach James Wade)
STARTERS | ||||||||
| Player | Team | Position | Height | Birthdate | College/Country | WNBA years experience | All-Star Games | All-Star Pick No. (*denotes trade) |
| Sue Bird | Seattle Storm | Guard | 5-9 | 10/16/80 | Connecticut | 18 | 13 | co-captain* |
| Jonquel Jones | Connecticut Sun | Frontcourt | 6-6 | 1/5/94 | George Washington | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Nneka Ogwumike | Los Angeles Sparks | Frontcourt | 6-2 | 7/2/90 | Stanford | 10 | 7 | 5* |
| Breanna Stewart | Seattle Storm | Frontcourt | 6-4 | 8/27/94 | Connecticut | 5 | 4 | captain |
| Jackie Young | Las Vegas Aces | Guard | 6-0 | 9/16/97 | Notre Dame | 3 | 1 | 2 |
RESERVES | ||||||||
| Kahleah Copper | Chicago Sky | Guard | 6-1 | 8/28/94 | Rutgers | 6 | 2 | 9 |
| Skylar Diggins-Smith | Phoenix Mercury | Guard | 5-9 | 8/2/90 | Notre Dame | 8 | 6 | 11 |
| Jewell Loyd | Seattle Storm | Guard | 5-10 | 10/5/93 | Notre Dame | 7 | 4 | 7 |
| Emma Meesseman | Chicago Sky | Frontcourt | 6-4 | 5/13/93 | Belgium | 7 | 2 | 17 |
| Arike Ogunbowale | Dallas Wings | Guard | 5-8 | 3/2/97 | Notre Dame | 3 | 2 | 15 |
| Alyssa Thomas | Connecticut Sun | Frontcourt | 6-2 | 4/12/92 | Maryland | 8 | 3 | 13 |
2022 WNBA All-Star Game storylines to follow:
Griner named honorary 2022 All-Star
In addition to the players selected to participate in the game, the league named Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner an honorary All-Star. It marks the eighth All-Star selection for the 31-year-old Griner, a former first-round draft pick out of Baylor in 2013, who has been detained in Russia on drug charges since February. During a court appearance on Thursday, she pleaded guilty to drug possession, a move that has the potential to expedite court proceedings.
Sky, Aces lead with four All-Stars each
Chicago and Las Vegas are first and second, respectively, in the current overall standings, so it’s not surprising that they feature more than one-third of the total All-Star players. The Aces, however, have three starters (Plum, Wilson, Young) compared to just one starter for the Sky (Candace Parker). Overall, 11 of the 12 teams in the league have at least one All-Star, with the only exception being the last-place Indiana Fever.
Four players set for All-Star debuts in 2022
All-Star rookies include Sabrina Ionescu, Rhyne Howard, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young -- all of whom are guards. Notably missing from the All-Star rosters is Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, who has 10 All-Star appearances in her 18-year career, which ties for second-most all-time. This year marks the first time that the 40-year-old Taurasi was healthy and not selected.
Who will earn MVP honors?
Last year, Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale was named MVP after scoring a game-high 26 points and leading Team WNBA to a 93-85 victory over the All-Stars from the USA Basketball Women’s National Team. Heading into this year’s All-Star weekend, however, Ogunbowale is on the reserves list for Team Stewart, and she ranks third in the league in scoring, averaging 19.5 points and 40.8-percent shooting. Team captain Breanna Stewart leads the league with 20.9 points and 44.2-percent shooting, with Team Wilson starter and All-Star rookie Kelsey Plum ranking second with 19.9 points and 43.2-percent shooting.
2022 WNBA 3-Point Contest, Skills Challenge: Who’s playing, contest formats
The WNBA MTN DEW 3-Point Contest, set for Saturday, July 9, at McCormick Place in Chicago will air on ESPN at 3 p.m. ET.
Three-time event winner Allie Quigley of the Chicago Sky will defend her 2021 3-Point crown, competing against five challengers that current WNBA made-threes leader Kelsey Plum of the Las Vegas Aces.
This timed shooting competition features two rounds, with each competitor allotted 70 seconds (1:10) to shoot as many of the available 27 balls as they can. The top three players will advance to the final round.
Also Saturday, players will compete in the Skills Challenge, which returns for the first time since 2019. The Skills Challenge features a three-round, obstacle-course competition that tests dribbling, passing, agility and three-point shooting skills. The event format is a head-to-head, bracket-style tournament format. Participants for the Skills Challenge have not been announced yet.
3-Point Contest participants:
| PLAYER | TEAM | POSITION | HEIGHT | BIRTHDATE | COLLEGE/COUNTRY | 2022 3PM | 2022 3PA | 2022 3PP |
| Ariel Atkins | Washington Mystics | Guard | 5-8 | 7/30/96 | Texas | 49 | 130 | .377 |
| Rhyne Howard | Atlanta Dream | Guard | 6-2 | 4/29/00 | Kentucky | 50 | 148 | .338 |
| Jewell Loyd | Seattle Storm | Guard | 5-10 | 10/5/93 | Notre Dame | 55 | 142 | .387 |
| Arike Ogunbowale | Dallas Wings | Guard | 5-8 | 3/2/97 | Notre Dame | 67 | 180 | .372 |
| Kelsey Plum | Las Vegas Aces | Guard | 5-8 | 8/24/94 | Washington | 71 | 169 | .420 |
| Allie Quigley | Chicago Sky | Guard | 5-10 | 6/20/86 | DePaul | 27 | 79 | .342 |
3-Point Contest format:
- Five racks with five balls each will be spaced out around the arc. Four of the racks will contain four “regular” balls worth one point and one “money ball” worth two points. One rack will be the “money ball rack,” which will contain five “money balls” worth two points each. In addition, there will be two “DEW ZONE” locations positioned well beyond the 3-point line. Each pedestal will hold one special “DEW ZONE ball” worth three points.
- Players must exhaust the ball racks and pedestals in competition order before moving on to the next shooting location.
- The three players with the highest scores advance to the Final Round, which features the same competition format as the first round.
What happens if there is a tie in the WNBA All-Star 3-point challenge?
- Tiebreaker: In the event of a tie to determine the Final Round participants, a 30-second tiebreaker will take place using the same competition format described above. In the event of a tie to determine the champion, a full 70-second (1:10) tiebreaker will take place. If necessary, this process will be repeated until the tie is broken.
