Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese make their debuts in the WNBA All-Star Game: full rosters

The 2024 WNBA All-Star Game rosters have been set with Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese making their debuts in the annual showcase later this month.

Clark, the Indiana Fever’s No. 1 pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, received the most votes in the fan voting portion of the vote. After winning Rookie of the Month in May, she leads all first-year players in scoring (16.2 points per game), assists (6.9 per game) and is second in the league in three-pointers made (56). .

On Tuesday, Reese, the No. 7 pick by the Chicago Sky, was named Rookie of the Month for June. Last weekend, she set a WNBA single-season record for consecutive double-doubles (10), and she led the WNBA in rebounding during Tuesday night’s action. Like Clark, Reese finished in the top five in fan voting.

The countdown begins… ⏳

Get ready to witness the ultimate clash of talent #WNBAAllStar meets the USA Women’s National Team on July 20 at 8:30 PM/ET on ABC 📺 pic.twitter.com/oEyJciHmEx

— WNBA (@WNBA) July 3, 2024

The two rookies are the only two first-time competitors in the exhibition, which takes place July 20 in Phoenix.

“I’m just so happy. I know how much work I put into it,” Reese said. “When I came into this league, so many people doubted me, didn’t think my game would translate and that I wouldn’t be the player I was in college. … But I trusted the process and I believed and I’m grateful that I went to (pick No. 7) and was able to come to Chicago.

It is the first time since 2014 that two rookies will participate in the game.

The 12 members of the 2024 U.S. Olympic team were automatically assigned spots in the All-Star Game. Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, who is competing in her sixth Olympics, will also play in her 11th All-Star Game. Her teammate, center Brittney Griner, will appear in her 10th All-Star Game, including 2022 in which she was an honorary participant.

The initial selection of the All-Stars was made through a combination of fan voting (50 percent), a national panel of media members (25 percent) and current WNBA players (25 percent). Coaches filled out the rest of the roster.

The format of the game is once again Team USA vs. Team WNBA. In 2021, the last time this format was used, Team WNBA defeated the US Olympic team.

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Team WNBA:

• DeWanna Bonner, Connecticut Sun (Sixth All-Star Game)
• Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever (second)
• Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever (1st)
• Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream (second)
• Dearica Hamby, Los Angeles Sparks (third)
• Brionna Jones, Connecticut Sun (third)
• Jonquel Jones, New York Liberty (fifth)
• Kayla McBride, Minnesota Lynx (fourth)
• Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever (second)
• Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas Wings (fourth)
• Nneka Ogwumike, Seattle Storm (ninth)
• Angel Reese, Chicago Sky (1st)

Team USA:

• Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx (fourth)
• Kahleah Copper, Phoenix Mercury (fourth)
• Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas Aces (sixth)
• Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury (10th)
• Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty (third)
• Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm (sixth)
• Kelsey Plum, Las Vegas Aces (third)
• Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty (sixth)
• Diana Taurasi, Phoenix Mercury (11th)
• Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun (fifth)
• A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces (sixth)
• Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces (third)

Was there snoring?

As my colleague Sabreena Merchant and I wrote last week, selecting Team WNBA was always going to be difficult. Reasonable cases can be made for each of the selected players. And all but one team (Washington Mystics) have at least one player on display.

Possible opponents, however, include Storm center Ezi Magbegor, Lynx center Alanna Smith and Liberty wing Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. Magbegor has a chance to win the title of Defensive Player of the Year. She leads the WNBA in total blocks (42), is seventh in rebounds per game (8.7), is third in offensive rebounds per game (2.9), is third in defensive win shares and fourth in total win shares. Earlier this season, she recorded at least three blocks in eight straight games, the second-longest streak in WNBA history.

Smith anchors a Lynx defense that has the WNBA’s best defensive rating (91.3) since 2007. This season, she has posted new career highs in points, assists, steals and blocks. She ranks fourth in defensive win shares and is also shooting a career-best 46.4 percent from 3-point range. Smith and Magbegor are expected to be key members of the Australian national team this summer, but with neither making the WNBA All-Star Game, there is only one international player in the game (Jonquel Jones).

“I thought she had a good chance too,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. “She is also very good and we are a good team with a good track record. … I just know those things aren’t easy.”

Entering Tuesday night’s game against the Lynx, New York’s versatile wing Laney-Hamilton led all WNBA players who have played in more than five games in net rating (plus-19.9). She is once again one of the WNBA’s best defensemen.

Fever is the most represented franchise on Team WNBA

After no players were named to the U.S. Olympic team, three members of the Fever (Clark, Boston and Mitchell) were named to Team WNBA, the most of any franchise. Boston, who averages 13.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, finished second in fan voting and was automatically named to the team based on its ranking in the top 10.

Like Boston, Mitchell is appearing in her second straight All-Star Game. She averages 16.3 points per game and was one of eight players named to the All-Star Game after the coaches’ vote.

McBride and Hamby highlight All-Star returners

McBride, the Lynx guard, returns to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2019. She is Minnesota’s second-leading scorer at 15.8 points per game, her highest performance since 2018, and the Lynx have the Western Conference’s best record on Tuesday. (14-4).

“I’m very happy,” Reeve said. “I thought it was a no-brainer, but I’m happy when it happens. She has had an incredible season so far. Career high in scoring it and just the ways we count on (her): defensively, passing, everything we ask her to do, making plays. She just does everything for us.”

Hamby makes her third All-Star appearance and first since 2022. After being traded in the 2023 offseason, Hamby enters the game just over a year after the birth of her second child. She leads Los Angeles with career highs of 18.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. She will also compete in the Paris Olympics with Team USA’s 3×3 team.

Required reading

(Photo: Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)