Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese debut for Team WNBA against Team USA

Rookie stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will group up for Team WNBA towards Team USA inside the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game. Clark topped the fan voting with Angel Reese finishing 5th.

Clark (Fever) Aliyah Boston (Fever) Dearica Hamby Sparks. And Arike Ogunbowale (Wings) automatically became All-Stars for finishing in the top 10 of overall voting. And not being on the Team USA 5-on-5 roster. Angel Reese is one of eight players selected for Team WNBA based on coaches’ votes.

The roster also includes DeWanna Bonner Sun Allisha Gray Dream Brionna Jones Sun Jonquel Jones Liberty Kayla McBride Lynx Kelsey Mitchell Fever and Nneka Ogwumike (Storm).

The WNBA All-Star Game Team WNBA vs Team USA. Will held at Footprint Center in Phoenix on Saturday, July 20 (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC). The skills challenge and 3-point contest are set for Friday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN).

All Team USA players were automatically named 2024 WNBA All-Stars upon selection by USA Basketball last month. The team includes top stars like Collier, Griner, Stewart, and Taurasi. Players from the 3×3 team, including Hamby, are not part of the All-Star Game roster.

Clark and Boston lead in the fan vote

The initial All-Star selections determined fan votes (50%) WNBA player ballots (25%), and a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters (25%). Voters chose six frontcourt and two backcourt players, including Team USA members.

The top 10 vote-getters automatically became All-Stars. Clark led with 700,735 votes, followed by Boston with 618,680. Wilson, Stewart, and Angel Reese rounded out the top five.

The WNBA did not disclose the specific rankings for fan, player, and media votes this year. They released an alphabetical list of the top 10 players selected, including those like Collier, Copper, Ionescu, Stewart, Wilson, and Young already on Team USA. Boston, Clark, Hamby, and Ogunbowale completed the list and were chosen for Team WNBA.

Coaches selected the remaining 12 players for the All-Star roster from the top 36 vote-getters, including at least nine guards and 15 frontcourt players. They couldn’t vote for their own players or for those already on Team USA. This year marks the first time since 2014 that two rookies will play in the game.

Taurasi and Griner lead in All-Star selections

Taurasi will make her 11th All-Star appearance, while Griner will make her 10th. They aim for an eighth consecutive gold medal with Team USA. Griner returned to the All-Star Game last summer after an honorary nod in 2022 while detained in Russia.

Ionescu, Plum, and Young are each playing in their third All-Star Game, among 11 former No. 1 picks in this summer’s big event.

Ogwumike leads Team WNBA with her ninth All-Star appearance, while Bonner is playing in her sixth. Boston and Mitchell are each in their second All-Star Game after their first nods in 2023. This marks only the second time in Fever franchise history that three players have been name All-Stars in a single season 2007 with Catchings, Sutton-Brown, and DeForge.

Team USA has 67 All-Star appearances and 98 years of WNBA experience, while Team WNBA boasts 42 All-Star appearances and 78 seasons of WNBA play.

In 2021, the WNBA modified its All-Star layout to Team USA vs. Team WNBA, departing from its ordinary break in the course of Olympic years. Ogunbowale scored 26 points to steer Team WNBA to victory, marking the twentieth WNBA All-Star Game in the league’s 28-12 months history.

Fan voting set records, reflecting increased viewership and attendance trends. Wilson (217,773) and Clark (216,427) led after one week, with Clark receiving seven times more votes this year compared to last.