The 2024 WNBA All-Star Weekend will include the All-Star Game, 3-Point Challenge, and the Skills Challenge. So, how can you watch the events with the best players in women’s basketball
The WNBA has never been bigger than it is now. With the rookie debuts of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, as well as the star-studded talent spread across the league, popularity of the league is at an all-time high. That means that the WNBA All-Star Weekend is more anticipated than ever before.
Those magnificent rookies will be participating in the All-Star Game, and there are a number of other events that will showcase the skills of the best talent in the world. In this article, we will detail everything that you need to know about the 2024 WNBA All-Star Weekend.
Where is the WNBA All-Star Weekend?
The All-Star festivities will start on Thursday, July 18, and continue through Saturday, July 20. The 2024 edition of All-Star Weekend–which will be the 20th anniversary of the event–is headed to Phoenix, Arizona. The Phoenix Mercury will host the All-Star events at the Footprint Center.
What events are a part of All-Star Weekend?
WNBA players and coaches will arrive on Thursday, July 18, where they will then partake in the orange carpet fan event. The action will pick up on Friday, July 19. The Kia Skills Challenge will start at 6 p.m. ET, and it will be succeeded by the Starry 3-Point Challenge. The All-Star Game is on Saturday, July 20 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The All-Star Game will be on ABC, while the Skills Challenge and 3-Point Challenge will be broadcast on ESPN. You can also stream the weekend with fuboTV.
WNBA Skill Challenge participants
For the 2024 Kia WNBA Skills challenge, Phoenix Mercury players Sophie Cunningham and Brittney Griner headline the event. Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray, new Connecticut Sun guard Marina Mabrey and Indiana Fever guard Erica Wheeler round out the participants.
Just announced: Caitlin Clark will NOT be participating in the 3-Point Contest. For the Fever, Erica Wheeler will be participating in the Skills Challenge. pic.twitter.com/EUSb9HmVLm
— Matthew Byrne (@MatthewByrne1) July 18, 2024
WNBA 3-Point Contest participants
Unfortunately, despite expectations that Clark will be part of the WNBA 3-Point contest, the Fever rookie wasn’t included on the list.
Mabrey and Gray will also take part in the competition, along with Washington Mystics center Stefanie Dolson, New York Liberty big Jonquel Jones and Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride.
WNBA All-Star Game rosters
Yukihito Taguchi-USA TODAY Sports
The WNBA All-Star Game will be looking a little different this year. For the second time ever (first time was ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics), the All-Star Game will be between an All-Star roster of WNBA players and the U.S. Women’s National Team that is preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The WNBA is preparing to go on a month-long hiatus as Team USA will compete in the Olympic Games, and the All-Star Game will serve as an opportunity for fans to get a look at the team which will be looking to bring home the gold for the eighth straight time.
Team WNBA
DeWanna Bonner, Connecticut
Aliyah Boston, Indiana
Caitlin Clark, Indiana
Allisha Gray, Atlanta
Dearica Hamby, Los Angeles
Brionna Jones, Connecticut
Jonquel Jones, New York
Kayla McBride, Minnesota
Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas
Nneka Ogwumike, Seattle
Angel Reese, Chicago
Team USA
Napheesa Collier, Minnesota
Kahleah Cooper, Phoenix
Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas
Brittney Griner, Phoenix
Sabrina Ionescu, New York
Jewell Loyd, Seattle
Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas
Breanna Stewart, New York
Diana Taurasi, Phoenix
Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas
Jackie Young, Las Vegas
There is more talent in the WNBA than ever before, and this year’s All-Star Game will surely break viewership records for the event. While the United States National Team will be competing under the bright lights of the Olympics, they actually lost to the WNBA All-Stars team the last time the WNBA vs. Team USA format was used.
Even so, Team USA ended up winning the Olympics in 2021, and they have an even more stacked roster this go around. Brittney Griner, A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and Diana Taurasi are league legends, and they all rank within our top 25 WNBA players ever. Wilson, while averaging 27.2 points per game, is having arguably the greatest single season in WNBA history right now.
The team also has some of the most exciting younger players in the league, including Jackie Young and Sabrina Ionescu, the latter of which competed during NBA All-Star Weekend in the Stephen vs. Sabrina 3-Point Challenge, where the marksman squared off in a 3-point shooting contest against the best deep ball shooter in NBA history. Stephen Curry ended up winning the contest, but it was far closer than most people expected.
Of course, some of the biggest storylines are on the Team WNBA side of the All-Star Game, though. After a tremendous collegiate career that saw her break the NCAA all-time scoring record, Caitlin Clark has become the biggest name in women’s sports. Her extended range and incredible skills have brought more eyes to women’s basketball than ever before, and that has continued at the WNBA level.
While Clark has struggled with efficiency and turnover issues early on at the professional level, she has still shown that her talent is translatable to the WNBA game, and she has immediately become one of the best scorers in the league. Clark’s rookie season has been impressive enough to warrant a spot in the All-Star Game, and now, she will be teaming up with someone who has usually been pinned as her biggest rival.
That is, of course, Angel Reese, the former LSU Tiger who beat her in the National Championship Game in 2023 and is now on the Chicago Sky. Reese has claimed that she, and not just Clark, has been a big reason for the growth of women’s basketball, and she is not wrong.
Reese has had an iconic rookie season in her own right, and the two are closely contested in their race towards the Rookie of the Year Award. While efficiency has also been a problem for the star on the Sky, Reese did already set a WNBA record with 15 straight double-doubles.
Clark and Reese have never played together at any stage before. While they have publicly claimed not to dislike each other, it has become obvious that they are fierce rivals, so it will be interesting how they compete when sharing the hardwood together on the same squad.
