US women’s basketball looks to secure 8th consecutive Olympic gold
With WNBA viewership at an all-time high, the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team looks to continue Olympic dominance.
PHOENIX — History was made at the 2024 WNBA All-Star weekend in Phoenix when Allisha Gray of the Atlanta Dream became the first player to win the skills challenge and 3-point contest in the same season.
And the festivities are just getting started.
Team USA, headlined by five-time Olympic gold medalist Diana Taurasi, will face off against Team WNBA, which features up-and-coming rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET. The U.S. women’s national team may have won seven straight gold medals, but Team WNBA coach Cheryl Miller said her team of All-Stars aren’t going to make it easy for them.
Before we look ahead to Saturday’s main-event, we can’t overlook Friday’s historic performance. USA Today Sports recapped all of the action from Phoenix‘s sold-out Footprint Center.
Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray swept the WNBA All-Star activites on Friday. After winning the skills challenge earlier in the night, she took down New York Liberty big Jonquel Jones in the 3-point challenge to become the first person in WNBA history to win both in the same season.
“It feels amazing. Another $55K in my pocket,” Gray said, referring to Aflac’s $55K bonus for each competition.
It came down to the final 3-point ball.
Both Gray and Jones had hot and cold streaks during the final round. Gray finished with 22 points, which she contributed to fatigue from competing in both events. Jones had the opportunity to tie Gray’s score with her last ball, but it came up just short of the basket. Jones held her head in disappointment as she finished with 21 points.
“(Jones) had me nervous, I’m not going to lie,” Gray admitted.
No Caitlin Clark or Sabrina Ionescu, no problem.
New York Liberty’s Jonquel Jones scored 25 points during an impressive run in the first round of the 3-point contest. She even knocked down a Starry range ball worth 3 points.
Jones will face off against Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray in the final round after Gray scored 23 points. Minnesota Lynx’s Kayla McBride (21), Washington Mystic’s Stephanie Dolson (20) and Connecticut Sun’s Marina Mabrey (19) rounded out the five competitors.
Gray is pulling double duty and won the skills challenge earlier in the night.
ESPN is broadcasting the contest, and you can live stream it on the ESPN app, ESPN+ and on Fubo (free trial).
Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller, the coach of Team WNBA, received a standing ovation on Friday. Miller was courtside taking in Friday’s All-Star festivities when she was projected onto the Jumbotron. The sold-out crowd at Footprint Center instantly stood to their feet and applauded Miller, who served as the first ever head coach and general manager of the Phoenix Mercury from 1997 to 2000.
Miller wore a black shirt that read “Equality in Women’s Sports,” with “we deserve to be here” printed on the back.
LSU basketball star Flau’jae Johnson was spotted courtside in Phoenix rooting on her former teammate Hailey Van Lith, who transferred to TCU in April following a season with the Tigers. Van Lith is a member of Team USA’s 3×3 basketball team, rounded out by Cierra Burdick, Dearica Hamby and Rhyne Howard. The U.S. women’s 3×3 basketball team participated in a 10-minute exhibition match at Footprint Center on Friday ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Johnson’s former teammate Angel Reese will compete in the WNBA All-Star game on Saturday.
Phoenix Mercury’s Sophie Cunningham challenged the hometown crowd at Footprint Center to bring the energy for the final round of the WNBA All-Star Skills challenge, where she went head-to-head with Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray.
“Y’all I thought you were pretty quiet,” Cunningham said to the crowd after her first round.
Fans were roaring during the next round. Although Cunningham struggled from beyond the arc, she caught momentum in the back-half to finish in 34.5 seconds, quicker than her first-round time of 35.5 seconds.
Gray highlighted her speed and was quick out the game again. She also struggled to knock down her 3-point shots, but sprinted down the court for her outlet pass and layup to win at 32.1 seconds. She said she was fatigued from sprinting, but still came out victorious.
Gray and Cunningham hugged after the contest. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert presented her with a trophy.
The timed obstacle course consists of three bounce passes, a chest pass, a 3-point shot from the top of the arc, an elbow jumper, a corner three, an outlet pass, speed dribbles and a final shot from anywhere on the court. The top two from the first round advanced to the final round.
Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner led off the first round of the WNBA All-Star skills challenge with a time of 46.3 seconds. Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray made quick work of the 3-pointers and finished in 31.2 seconds. Marina Mabrey, who was traded from the Chicago Sky to the Connecticut Sun earlier this week, finished in 35.7 seconds to knock Griner out of the competition. Mabrey could have finished sooner if it weren’t for a couple mistakes, including one where she missed the ball grab on the final shot. It came back to haunt her. Mercury’s Sophie Cunningham narrowly beat Mabrey for the last spot in the finals by finishing in 35.5 seconds.
Indiana Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell, who is competing in Erica Wheeler’s place, struggled from the 3-point line and did not finish the obstacle course in time. She was disqualified.
Here are the guidelines for Friday’s event, from a WNBA release:
The three-point shooters will compete in the two-round, timed competition with ball racks positioned at five main shooting locations around the three-point arc. Four of the racks contain four official WNBA game balls worth one point each and one “money” ball worth two points.
The fifth rack will be a special “all money ball” rack with every ball worth two points. In addition, two ball pedestals will be positioned at deep shot locations called “The Starry Range.” Each pedestal holds one special ball known as the “Starry” ball; shots made with the special ball are worth three points. The two players with the highest scores in the First Round will advance to the Final Round.
- Jonquel Jones, New York Liberty
- Stefanie Dolson, Washington Mystics
- Kayla McBride, Minnesota Lynx
- Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream
- Marina Mabrey, Connecticut Sun
The winner of the WNBA All-Star skills challenge and 3-point contest will be laughing all the way to the bank after Aflac upped the ante.
Seattle Storm All-Star Nneka Ogwumike, who has served as the President of the WNBA Players Association since 2016, announced Thursday that the insurance company will give a $55,000 bonus to each winner. That’s a huge jump from the $2,575 awarded to winners by the league under the WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“I love that Aflac came in and stepped forward and really displayed their investment. Hopefully (led) by example for so many other organizations and companies that are looking to invest and partner,” Ogwumike said during media availability on Friday. “I wish it could have happened in a way where players were aware of it going in, but nevertheless they stepped in.”
Breanna Stewart had a message to Friday’s participants: “Get that money!”
It was a shock to fans to see that Clark was not listed as a participant in the WNBA All-Star 3-point contest. On Friday, she said she was invited but ultimately decided to sit out the competition to prioritize rest.
“I’ve been playing basketball for a year straight. It’s not an easy thing to just show up and shoot off a rack. It’s not something I’ve done before. It’s not something I’ve had a lot of time to practice. I’ve been helping my team win games. I think just enjoying this break. There will be plenty of opportunities for me to do that at some point.”
The New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu won the title at the 2023 All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas. Ionescu was nearly perfect in her final run, knocking down 25 of 27 three-point shots to earn 37 of 40 possible points. That’s an all-time record for either the NBA or WNBA.
Ionescu also competed against Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry during the NBA All-Star Weekend in in Indianapolis in February. She narrowly lost and scored 26 points, to Curry’s 29.
As for any advice? “Try to lock in. One shot at a time. I think it can get overwhelming knowing everyone that’s shooting. Great shooters are in it this year. The crowd usually gets into it a lot. Really it’s just you and the basket. Just not trying to overthink too much about how many shots you are going to take,” Ionescu said Friday. “Enjoy it. You got to have fun.”
Ionescu was invited to defend her All-Star 3-point contest title, but she ultimately declined to focus on Team USA, where she’ll make her first Olympic appearance in Paris.
“Being able to represent my country, it’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was young,” Ionescu told the media on Friday.
Indiana Fever’s Erica Wheeler took to social media Friday to express her disappointment in having to miss the competition. Despite the best efforts of Delta Airlines and the Indiana Fever, Wheeler explained she couldn’t find a flight to Phoenix in time for Friday’s competition at Footprint Center.
“I am soooo hurt!” Wheeler wrote on X, adding a heartbreak emoji in another post.
Kelsey Mitchell, Wheeler’s teammate on the Fever, will fill in for her. Mitchell was spotted warming up ahead of the skills challenge in Wheeler’s No. 17 jersey. In addition to Mitchell, Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston were named All-Stars from the Fever.
This year’s WNBA All-Star game is unlike most.
Not only because it’s the All-Stars facing the U.S. Women’s National Team that will represent the country in the 2024 Paris Olympics — which hasn’t happened since the 2021 Tokyo Olympics — but also because this will be the first All-Star game where fans get to see young superstars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
See the full TV schedule and rosters here.
It pays to play in the WNBA All-Star game. Under the WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, All-Star game participants each earn $2,575. The All-Star Game MVP is awarded an additional $5,150. Skills Competition and 3-point contest participants get $1,030 each, while the winners earn $2,575 from the league.
Team USA and a team of WNBA All-Stars face off Saturday night. Who has the best shot to win?
Check out these WNBA All-Star Game picks and WNBA All-Star predictions for Team USA vs. Team WNBA, which can be seen at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC (stream with free trial from FUBO).
Team USA is a 6.5-point favorite over Team WNBA in WNBA All-Star Game odds, courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Team USA is -260 on the moneyline, while Team WNBA is +215.
Read more from Jeremy Cluff here.
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