The WNBA announced that its All-Star Game will return July 14 and be held in Las Vegas at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. It will be broadcasted on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET but the game’s teams will be decided a little differently than past years.
Typically, the All-Star Game consist of 24 players who were voted in by fans, players and media members. Fans account for 50% of the vote while WNBA players and members of the media both get 25%.
Then the two players with the most votes become opposing team captains and draft their teams from the remaining pool of players. But with the Olympics being held this summer, U.S. basketball will get in on some of the fun.
Typically, the WNBA skips their All-Star Game when there’s a summer Olympics, but after a year like 2020, it elected to go forward.
So this year the voting doesn’t change, but one team will be comprised of players voted in who are part of the U.S. Basketball Women’s National Team, and the other team will be players who are not, per the release.
After the voting, the top 36 vote-getters who are not members of the USA Basketball team will be presented to WNBA head coaches and they will decide which 12 players will play the U.S. team. Coaches cannot vote for their own players.
Additionally, the gold medal-winning 1996 U.S. women’s basketball team will be honored during the game.
Voting will be available from Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET to June 27 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The teams will be announced June 30 and be broadcasted on ESPN
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