The Olympic roster is a similar mix of seasoned vets and first-time Olympians. There are seven first-time selections: Chicago’s Kahleah Copper, Las Vegas’ Dearica Hamby, Connecticut’s Brionna Jones, Dallas’ Arike Ogunbowale, Dallas’ Satou Sabally and Atlanta’s Courtney Williams. Connecticut’s Jonquel Jones, who is a frontrunner in the WNBA MVP conversation, is also a three-time All-Star. Their teammate - and Vandersloot's wife - Allie Quigley is the favorite in the 3-point contest, which will be held at halftime. Parker’s Sky teammate Courtney Vandersloot is making her third appearance. The WNBA All-Star team is led by a few veteran All-Stars including six-timer Candace Parker as well as a pair of four-timers in DeWanna Bonner and Liz Cambage. Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis is sitting courtside and mingling with the superstars. An hour before the game, players from both teams are warming up. Upon entrance to the arena, there's a stand offering both USA and WNBA gear. League merchandise was a topic of conversation in an earlier call with reporters and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. The games also serve as a tuneup for Team USA before playing a few exhibition games and heading to Tokyo for the Olympics, but players on both teams talked this week about wanting bragging rights in Las Vegas. We’ve made it to Michelob ULTRA Arena and fans are lining up to get inside for today’s WNBA All-Star Game featuring Team WNBA vs. Previously the league has skipped the ASG during Olympic seasons and in non-Olympic years went with conference or captain's pick rosters. This is the first year of this format, allowing the WNBA to host an all-star game during an Olympic year.
"We wanted to give them a good game," Jones said. While Team WNBA players were eager to claim bragging rights Wednesday evening at the Mandalay Vay Resort & Casnio in Las Vegas against the Olympians, they also said their job was to get Team USA ready for competition in Tokyo. Team USA was led by Brittney Griner's 17 points. Teammate Jonquel Jones, who plays with the Connecticut Sun, added 18 points. Arike Ogunbowale, a second-year player with the Dallas Wings, won the MVP award after finishing with a game-high 26 points to pace Team WNBA. Team WNBA beat Team USA, 93-85, for the 2021 All-Star Game crown.
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