Logo for the inaugural WNBA All-Star Game, held in 1999
The Women's National Basketball Association All-Star Game, commonly referred to as the WNBA All-Star Game, is the annual all-star game hosted each July by the Women's National Basketball Association, showcasing the league's top players. It is the feature event of the WNBA All-Star Weekend, a three-day event which goes from Friday to Sunday in a selected WNBA city. The WNBA All-Star Game was first played at Madison Square Garden on July 14, 1999.
From 1999 to 2017, the WNBA All-Star Game featured star players from the Western Conference competing against star players from the Eastern Conference. Starters were selected by fan voting through internet ballots, while the remaining players were chosen by league personnel, including head coaches and media members. At the end of the game, the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) was named by a panel of media representatives.
In 2018, the WNBA introduced a new format for the All-Star Game, eliminating the traditional Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference structure in favor of a player draft.[1] In this new format, two captains – determined by the highest number of fan votes – draft their teams from a pool of players voted as All-Stars, regardless of conference affiliation. Voting for All-Star starters includes inputs from fans, WNBA players, and sports media members, with a weighted system (fans 50%, players and media 25% each). Reserves are selected by the league's head coaches.[2]
The All-Star Weekend also features a Three-Point Contest and a Skills Challenge. The Three-Point Contest consists of multiple round in which players compete to make the most three-point shots from various spots around the arc within a set time limit.[3][4] The Skills Challenge is a obstacle course designed to test players' abilities in key aspects of the game, such as dribbling, passing, and shooting. The player who completes the course in the fastest time in the final round is declared the winner.[5][6] Both competitions usually feature five players, selected based on their performance during the regular season.[7]
History
The inaugural WNBA All Star Game was played in 1999 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, in front of a sold-out crowd. Whitney Houston performed the national anthem. The West Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 79–61 and Lisa Leslie was named the first-ever All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) after recording 13 points and five rebounds for the West.[8][9]
In 2004, The Game at Radio City was held in place of a traditional All-Star Game due to the WNBA players competing in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. That year, the USA national team defeated a team of WNBA All-Stars 74–58.[10][11] The game is officially considered to be an exhibition rather than an All-Star Game. The league also took a month-long break to accommodate players and coaches competing in the Olympic Games.
From 2008 through 2016, no All-Star Game was held during Summer Olympic years, continuing the tradition of taking a month-long mid-season break. In 2010, an exhibition game, Stars at the Sun, was played at Mohegan Sun Arena, where Team USA defeated a WNBA All-Star team 99–72.[12]
Although the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19pandemic, no All-Star Game was played in that season. The 2021 season featured the first All-Star Game in an Olympic year since 2000, with a WNBA All-Star team facing the USA national team. The 2024 game followed the same format and was also considered an official All-Star Game.
The Three-Point Contest, formerly referred to as the Three-Point Shootout, was held during the All-Star Game event from 2006 to 2010, and then again from 2017 to the present.
1 All-time record score for a WNBA or NBA Three-Point Contest, surpassing the NBA record of 31 points set by Stephen Curry in Atlanta (2021), which Tyrese Haliburton equaled in Salt Lake City (2023). However, Ionescu used a smaller WNBA regulation ball to set the record. Ionescu also competed with Curry in a head-to-head shootout at the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, with both players shooting from the NBA 3-point line but using WNBA and NBA balls, respectively.[25]
Three Point Contest champions by franchise
No.
Franchise
Last win
4
Chicago Sky
2022
2
New York Liberty
2025
1
Atlanta Dream
2024
1
Connecticut Sun
2019
1
Indiana Fever
2010
1
San Antonio Silver Stars
2009
1
Washington Mystics
2007
1
Houston Comets
2006
Skills Challenge
The WNBA introduced the Dribble, Dish & Swish Challenge starting during the 2003 WNBA All-Star Game.[26] It became renamed to the Skills Challenge was held during the All-Star Game event during 2006–2007, 2010, 2019, and 2022-2024. The most recent Skills Challenge rules were "a classic obstacle course format that will challenge players' abilities in each key facet of the game: dribbling, passing and shooting. In the first round, each player will maneuver around the course as fast as possible, and the players with the two fastest times will advance to the final round. There, they'll repeat the course, and the player with the fastest time in the final round will receive the trophy."[27]
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