The full slate of participants for next weekend’s All-Star Game in Las Vegas is now known after the WNBA announced the reserves for the midseason exhibition after initially announcing the starters.
Headlining said list is Tina Charles of the New York Liberty and Candice Dupree of the Indiana Fever. New York will have two representatives for this year’s game as Charles will join Kia Nurse, who was announced as one of the starters. Along with Dupree, Erica Wheeler will also participate as a reserve representing Indiana.
The Chicago Sky will send three to Vegas – all at the guard position in Courtney Vandersloot, Diamond DeShields and Allie Quigley who is the two-time defending 3-point contest champion and will be a heavy favorite to successfully defend her crown at this year’s rendition.
Minnesota will send one guard and one frontcourt participant to Mandalay Bay Events Center in Sylvia Fowles and Odyssey Sims.
Phoenix’s DeWanna Bonner was also named as a frontcourt reserve. The Sparks now also have a pair of participants for next week’s game as Nneka Ogwumike joins Chelsea Gray from Los Angeles. Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun was also named as a reserve along with the Washington Mystics’ Kristi Toliver.
The two teams will be drafted by captains Elena Delle Donne and A’ja Wilson with Las Vegas aces coach Bill Laimbeer coaching Team Delle Donne and Mystics coach Mike Thibault at the helm for Team Wilson. A league press release did not mention if the draft would be televised and only said that details would be “announced at a later date.”
These are the seventh All-Star selections for both Charles and Dupree. It is also the sixth each for Ogwumike and Fowles. Toliver, Bonner and Quigley are making their third All-Star Games each and it is the second selection for Thomas and Vandersloot. Wheeler, Sims and DeShields will be in the All-Star Game for the first time.
The starters, outside of Delle Donne and Wilson, are Gray, Griner, Nurse, Natasha Howard, Kayla McBride, Jonquel Jones, Jewell Loyd and Liz Cambage.
