Caitlin Clark on why she declined 3-point contest invite, All-Star week
Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark talks with media in Phoenix ahead of WNBA All-Star game.
PHOENIX — The WNBA All-Star festivities continue Saturday night in Phoenix as the All-Star squad takes on Team USA.
For the first time, rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese – longtime college rivals – will play together as members of the All-Star team.
History was made at the 2024 WNBA All-Star weekend Friday when Allisha Gray of the Atlanta Dream became the first player to win the skills challenge and 3-point contest in the same season.
Team USA, headlined by five-time Olympic gold medalist Diana Taurasi, will face off against Team WNBA, which features up-and-coming rookies Clark and Reese, on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET. The U.S. women’s national team may have won seven consecutive gold medals, but Team WNBA coach Cheryl Miller said her team of All-Stars aren’t going to make it easy for them.
Follow along with USA TODAY Sports for all the action from Phoenix’s sold-out Footprint Center.
The WNBA All-Stars play Team USA on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on ABC.
MORE: Brittney Griner announces birth of first child: ‘He is amazing’
You can stream with free trial from FUBO.
It may be Caitlin Clark’s first WNBA All-Star game, but she’s not nervous.
“I don’t get nervous for any game. I think more so just excitement more than anything,” Clark told the media ahead of Saturday’s game. “There’s been a build-up to finally get to the game, because you are here all weekend and have so many events to go to and so many things to do. Everybody is just ready to play the game.”
Clark predicts a “really competitive” contest.
“That’s what I’m looking forward to,” she added. “Both teams competing, but also we want to help them get better and prepared for Paris.”
Cheryl Reeve, the coach of the Minnesota Lynx and the U.S. women’s national team, said she expects a hard fought game on Saturday when Team USA takes on Team WNBA.
“This is such a great game for USA basketball because of the level of competition. We are going to experience adversity in this game,” she said Saturday. “I don’t think you can reach your greatest heights without experiencing adversity. You have to go through that first. This game is going to give us that because (of) the level of talent that exists on both teams.”
Cheryl Miller says Team WNBA ‘wants to win’
Caitlin Clark may not be nervous, but her WNBA All-Star coach surely is. Cheryl Miller was frank about her butterflies ahead of the WNBA All-Stars’ main event Saturday.
“First of all, I’m nervous as heck. Woke up nervous, went to bed nervous, had a nap woke up and was nervous. But that’s what I love about this game … It doesn’t get better than this afternoon,” Miller said. “(Team USA) wants to win. Fun is winning. We are going to put the best product out there.”
It’s a full-circle moment for Miller, who served as the first head coach and general manager of the Phoenix Mercury from 1997 to 2000. She received a standing ovation at Footprint Center on Friday evening.
Where Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese go, attention follows.
The rivalry between Clark and Reese captivated the nation during their collegiate days at Iowa and LSU, respectively, and the well-deserved hype has followed the two superstars into the WNBA.
Clark, who was drafted No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever, and Reese, who was taken with the No. 7 pick by the Chicago Sky, have been pitted against each other throughout their careers – whether by their devoted fanbases or in the media – but a white flag has been raised temporarily. They were both named to the 2024 WNBA All-Star team, becoming the first pair of rookies to earn a nod since 2014. After years of going head-to-head, Clark and Reese will team up for the first time in their careers.
“Everybody can wear their ‘get along’ shirts together for one day at least,” Reese joked Friday. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Read Cydney Henderson’s story.
Who has scored the most points in WNBA All-Star game?
Seattle Storm’s Jewell Loyd scored 31 points at the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game, breaking Maya Moore and Kelsey Plum’s previous record of 30 points set in 2015 and 2022, respectively.
Who was the WNBA All-Star game MVP last year?
Jewell Loyd was named the WNBA All-Star Game MVP last year in Las Vegas following a record-setting 31-point performance.
Team WNBADeWanna Bonner, ConnecticutAliyah Boston, IndianaCaitlin Clark, IndianaAllisha Gray, AtlantaDearica Hamby, Los AngelesBrionna Jones, ConnecticutJonquel Jones, New YorkKayla McBride, MinnesotaKelsey Mitchell, IndianaArike Ogunbowale, DallasNneka Ogwumike, SeattleAngel Reese, ChicagoTeam USANapheesa Collier, MinnesotaKahleah Copper, PhoenixChelsea Gray, Las VegasBrittney Griner, PhoenixSabrina Ionescu, New YorkJewell Loyd, SeattleKelsey Plum, Las VegasBreanna Stewart, New YorkDiana Taurasi, PhoenixAlyssa Thomas, ConnecticutA’ja Wilson, Las VegasJackie Young, Las Vegas
Yes. Once before.
In 2021, ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, the WNBA All-Star Team faced off against Team USA, with the WNBA All-Stars winning 93-85. Arike Ogunbowale of Dallas was named MVP after leading all players with 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
Team USA later won Olympic gold with a 90-75 victory against Japan in the Tokyo Games.
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.
All signs are pointing toward Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi making her sixth Olympic appearance later this month after an injury scare sidelined her for three games with a lower left leg ailment.
Taurasi came back against the Connecticut Sun on July 14, scoring six points and grabbing six rebounds in 25 minutes in a 96-69 road defeat.
Closing out the season’s first half before the All-Star Game and the Olympic break, Taurasi had 18 points and five assists in 28 minutes in a 96-87 win over the Washington Mystics on Tuesday.
Read more from Scooby Axson here.
One sports career is in disheartening decline. The other is in exhilarating ascendance. Born in different centuries, Tiger Woods and Caitlin Clark are going in opposite directions.
Yet, while one is 26 years older than the other, they do have much in common. It’s as if their thrilling careers have been running on parallel tracks a generation apart.
How often over the past year and a half, since Clark’s rise to her immense popularity, has the rush to buy tickets to see her or national obsession to watch her on TV reminded us of someone else? And when we thought about it, and landed on who that someone might be, wasn’t it Tiger?
Read more from Christine Brennan 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. — Josh Peter
Team USA and a team of WNBA All-Stars face off Saturday night. Who has the best shot to win?
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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Publish date : 2024-07-20 19:48:02
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