CHICAGO — With a little over four minutes left in the second quarter of the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game, Sylvia Fowles stole a pass from Jackie Young and took off down the court. She then rose up and threw down a one-handed dunk, sending the Wintrust Arena crowd into an absolute frenzy.
Prior to the start of Sunday’s game, league commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the event felt “kind of symbolic” with retiring legends Sue Bird and Fowles passing the torch to younger stars such as team captains Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson as well as reigning league MVP Jonquel Jones and four first-time selections.
Bird and Fowles were honored with a special video and flowers, getting a send-off worthy of their great careers — they lead the league in all-time assists and rebounds, respectively — while showing they’re still well more than capable of playing among the best talent in the league.
But ultimately it was the young talent that led the way as Team Wilson defeated Team Stewart, 134-112.
Making her first All-Star appearance, Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum was named MVP after scoring 30 points to lead all players, tying the All-Star Game record set by Maya Moore in 2015. She also had three assists and two rebounds.
“It was a lot of fun,” Plum said. “This is for the fans, and this is to reach and expose people that maybe haven’t seen the W. And what a way to send off Sylvia and Sue.
“I think for me, I just personally wanted to go out and have a ton of fun. Shots started to fall, so obviously it’s really fun when that happens, too, but regardless of that, I was just going to play and have a ton of joy out there.”
Connecticut Sun forward Jonquel Jones showed out for Team Stewart, notching 29 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two steals. She is the first player in WNBA All-Star Game history with at least 25 points and 10 rebounds, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Fellow Sun teammate Brionna Jones had 10 points, four rebounds and two assists for Team Wilson, while Alyssa Thomas had four points, eight rebounds and two assists for Team Stewart.
Stewart had 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals, while fellow former UConn star Bird had six assists.
Other standouts for the game included New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (19 points, six rebounds, six assists), Chicago Sky forward Candace Parker (15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and Atlanta Dream forward Rhyne Howard (13 points, five rebounds, four assists) for Team Wilson. On Team Stewart, Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd (21 points), Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike (12 points) also made a big impact.
Fowles scored the first points of the afternoon, draining a 3-pointer to kick off the last All-Star appearance of her career, and her dunk in the second quarter stole the show.
“I think I just heard the momentum of the crowd,” Fowles said of the dunk. “I probably heard a couple of benches and seen a couple of faces on the other team and I was like, just go for it. But it was just in the moment. I didn’t really think about it.”
Though it ultimately went to Plum, Jonquel Jones looked determined to win MVP from the early minutes of the game, set to prove just why she was named the best player in the league last season.
The four-time All-Star caught an overhead pass from Bird for an easy layup for her first points of the afternoon. Bird found her again on the very next possession for a 3-pointer on the wing. Feeling confident, Jonquel Jones fired off a shot from the special new 4-point zone, swishing it in with ease.
“I practiced them yesterday and shot it a lot in the warmups,” she said of the 4-point shots. “I felt comfortable and confident shooting them. So yeah, that’s all I was thinking about was just getting them up.”
JJ had scored 11 of the first 14 points of the afternoon for Team Stewart, but she wasn’t done yet. Shortly after that she drained another 3-pointer.
Still, Team Wilson held the lead for most of the first half. They were up 59-39 at halftime behind 17 first-half points from Plum, who was making the first All-Star appearance of her career. Meanwhile, Jones had 14 points, five rebounds and two assists in the first half.
Jonquel Jones showed off her vision as well. With a little over eight minutes left in the third quarter, she stole the ball and fired a pass down the length of the court to Ogwumike for an easy layup.
After only notching three points in the first half, Stewart began to find her groove in the third quarter, scoring nine points in the period. Still, her team trailed 92-77 entering the final quarter.
Team Stewart trimmed the deficit to 11 points in the fourth when Jones scored her second four-point play of the afternoon, making it a 109-98 game. She brought her team into single digits shortly after that, but Team Wilson stormed back to take the victory.
As they checked out for the final time with a little over two minutes left, Bird and Fowles were once again celebrated. As the PA announcer declared their exit, the crowd rose to a standing ovation, allowing the pair to go out in a fashion only two legends of the game could.
“That moment was really special,” Bird said. “That was really considerate of [Team Stewart coach James Wade] to think of me, and it was a really nice moment to share with the crowd, with the other players.”
Players honor Brittney Griner
The absence of Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner, who has been wrongfully detained in Russia since February, loomed over All-Star Weekend.
Players brought attention to Griner’s situation throughout the weekend festivities and Engelbert said getting the center home was her biggest priority.
Every player wore warmups with Griner’s name and No. 42 on the back. Griner was also announced as an honorary All-Star before the game.
“We are all in this fight together to bring her home,” Stewart said. “And I think that when you have ... those strength in numbers, it makes a bigger splash and we get attention and we are getting people’s attention, and we need to continue to ask President Biden and the White House to bring her home.”
After halftime, players took things a step further. They all came out wearing special uniforms with Griner’s name and number on the back instead of their own. Players then all lined up together on the sidelines and stood still as the arena took a moment to bring attention to Griner.
“That was our way of honoring her,” Bird said. “Our way of hopefully at some point she sees a picture or something and letting her know that she is always on our minds and in our hearts.
“But it’s also a way to have other people see her name. Maybe someone turned on the TV and doesn’t know about the story and is like, ‘Oh, why are they all wearing the same jersey number?’ And in those moments it brings awareness and it constantly reminds the Biden administration that we are supporting them and whatever they need to do to get Brittney home, we’re behind them.”
