While Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird are used to being teammates with the Storm, the two Seattle stars will face off in the upcoming WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago.
Stewart, Bird, Aces forward A’ja Wilson and Lynx center Sylvia Fowles were named the four co-captains for the league’s star-studded exhibition Wednesday. Bird will be paired with Wilson; Fowles will be paired with Stewart.
The All-Star Game is set for July 10.
Stewart and Wilson, who will each be making their fourth All-Star appearance, finished with the most fan votes. They will be joined by Bird and Fowles, who have both said the 2022 season will be their last. Bird will become a 13-time All-Star, while this is the eighth selection for Fowles.
Wilson was one of three Las Vegas players named a starter as guards Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum will join her in Chicago. Both Young and Plum will be first-time participants in the game, with Young averaging a career-best 18.2 points per game and Plum a career-high 20.3 points per game. Las Vegas also has the league’s best record at 13–3.
Reigning league MVP Jonquel Jones, ’16 WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike and two-time league MVP Candace Parker will be the game’s other three frontcourt starters. The Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu will make her All-Star debut as well, as one of the four guards named to the game’s starting lineup.
“For icons like Sylvia and Sue to be voted into the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game as starters in their 15th and 19th seasons, respectively, is extraordinary,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “And when you see the starting lineups dotted with first-time All-Stars like Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young, it just seems right that Sylvia and Sue—who have said this will be their final season—join A’ja and Breanna as co-captains for an All-Star event that will in some ways symbolize the passing of the torch to a new generation of WNBA stars.”
The WNBA also named Mercury center Brittney Griner, who the United States government says is being wrongfully detained in Russia, as an honorary All-Star and starter.
The 10 starters were ranked by position (guard and frontcourt) within three voting groups—fan votes, media votes, and player votes. Each player’s score was then calculated by averaging their weighted rank from the fan votes (50%), current player votes (25%) and the media panel votes (25%).
The league’s head coaches will select the 12 reserves, voting for three guards, five frontcourt players and four players at either position regardless of conference. They cannot vote for their own player and the game’s full roster will be announced June 28.
Stewart, Bird, Fowles and Wilson will select their respective teams on Saturday, July 2 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.
