2022 WNBA All Star Game Recap
The 18th annual WNBA All-Star Game was played on Sunday, July 10, 2022, at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Team captains Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson drafted their teams, using the pool of selected All-Star players. Before we jump into the details of the game, let’s look back at everything before Sunday’s contest.
All-Star Saturday
The three-point contest should be renamed the Allie Quigley Invitational, as the Chicago Sky guard won her fourth title. Quigley said she is, “officially retiring” from the event after continuing to display such an excellent shooting touch from distance. The New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu, in her first All-Star weekend, won the Skills Challenge, teaming with NC State commit Zoe Brooks to have the fastest time in the team-based obstacle course.
A Warm Goodbye to Legends
This season will see the retirement of two true living legends in basketball, with a third possibly joining them. Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles will be playing in their final All-Star game, as both have announced this will be their final year in the W. With 21 All-Star appearances and 6 championships between them and each holding a WNBA career statistic record—Bird is the assists leader and Fowles is the rebounding leader—they have been pillars in basketball and vital to the growth of the game.
It is also possible Chicago’s own Candace Parker play her final year in the W. The 8-time All-Star and 2-time champion has not committed to playing beyond this year. They received well-deserved adoration before the game. These three powerful women will be missed, if they decide to call it a WNBA career.
The New Rules
This year’s game features a few new revisions to and excitement on the floor. The shot clock was reduced from 24 to 20. There are also no free throws taken. Any time there was a shooting foul situation, points were awarded to that team. Lastly, there were various spots on the floor where if any part of the player is touching the spot, the shot they make will be worth four points.
The Game
Last year’s MVP, Connecticut’s Jonquel Jones, got off to a blistering scoring start in the first quarter. After the first wave of substitutions, the pace and intensity picked up. Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale and New York’s Natasha Howard turned things up a notch with their energy.
In the second quarter, Sylvia Fowles showed she has some spring in her legs. Off a fastbreak steal. Fowles gathered her steps and threw down a one-handed dunk—at 37 years old. Fowles told Holly Rowe that it was her first dunk since 2008 and that her teammates urged her to try it. Teammates, opponents and the crowd alike erupted in praise.
The pace continued to be quick in the second half and so did the shooting. The threes were falling at a rapid pace, with Seattle’s Jewell Loyd making seven of them herself.
In the second half, both teams showed their solidarity to Phoenix Mercury center Britney Griner. Griner is imprisoned in Russia with a charge of carrying hashish oil through the airport. Both Team Wilson and Team Stewart wore warmup shirts and changed their on-court jerseys to Griner’s #42 and played the rest of the half in them. “This is for you, BG,” the voice from the PA system rang out. “We just wanted to make sure at some point that we were able to, on national television, obviously in front of a sold-out crowd, put Brittney’s name in the forefront,” said Sue Bird (via Th eAthletic). “That was our way of honoring her, our way of hopefully at some point she sees a picture or something, and letting her know that she is always on our minds and in our hearts.”
Every player came out for the second half of the #WNBAAllStar Game wearing a Brittney Griner No. 42 jersey.
— The Athletic WBB (@TheAthleticWBB) July 10, 2022
🎥 @espnpic.twitter.com/LLA8dnTpvn
The fourth quarter saw each of the known retirees receive warm applause as they exited the game for the final time. Fowles and Bird both were subbed out at the 2:10 mark in the fourth, to cheers and an ovation that lasted a couple minutes.
The game-sealing shot was fittingly hit by Candace Parker, who banked in a three on the left wing. Team Wilson won 134-112, as Kelsey Plum nailed a 4-pointer with seconds to go–tying her with Maya Moore for the most points scored in a WNBA All-Star game with 30. Commissioner Kathy Englebert presented Plum with the MVP and Team Wilson’s 134 points are also a record in a WNBA All-Star Game. Jonquel Jones led Team Stewart with 29 points. Bird didn’t score but dished out 6 assists. Ionescu and Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard, in their first All-Star appearances, scored 19 and 16 points respectively. Sylvia Fowles finished with 9 points and 11 rebounds.
Fowles and Bird addressed the crowd, thanking them and the players for a highly entertaining game. Lots of hugs and embraces after the game, and that is a wrap on the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game.