The WNBA All-Star Game will return to Las Vegas July 14 at Michelob Ultra Arena and will feature All-Stars voted-in from the USA Basketball Women’s National Team competing against the remaining WNBA All-Stars voted-in as part of a combination of fan, player, media, and coach voting.
Earlier this month WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert spoke about the importance of having the 17th annual All-Star Game this year despite the Olympic break.
The WNBA typically does not host an All-Star Game during an Olympic year. After the 2020 Tokyo Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Engelbert said skipping the event two years in a row wasn’t an option.
“It’s important to our players,” Engelbert said. “It’s another opportunity for them to show their skill set, especially with a lot of momentum coming into the Olympic break this year.”
Voting for WNBA All-Star 2021 opens Tuesday at 1 p.m. and will close June 27 at 10:59 p.m. All current WNBA players will be eligible and selections will be made through a combination of fans (50% of the vote), current WNBA players (25%) and a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters (25%).
Fans will be able to vote for up to 10 players, four backcourt and six frontcourt, and will only be able to vote once a day with the exception of two “2-for-1 Days” that will allow fans to have their votes count twice on Sunday June 20 and Sunday June 27.
Names of the top 36 players with the most votes who are not members of the USA Women’s Basketball 5×5 roster will be provided to all 12 head coaches in the league. The coaches will determine from that list which 12 players will represent Team WNBA All-Stars versus the national team.
Coaches will not be able to vote for their own players.
The national team’s final 5×5 roster has not been released yet but Diamond DeShields, Kahleah Copper and Stefanie Dolson were all part of Dawn Staley’s training camp roster in March.
The 2019 WNBA All-Star Game, which was also held in Las Vegas, featured three Sky players: Diamond DeShields, Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley.
Lexie Brown adds to backcourt depth
The Sky announced the re-signing of Lexie Brown Monday afternoon to a rest of season contract.
Brown has played multiple stints with the Sky this season, including being signed to the team the morning of June 1 and playing 20 minutes for the team against the Phoenix Mercury that night.
Brown should strengthen the Sky’s backcourt depth.
