The WNBA has announced that the 2024 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game will feature a matchup between the USA Basketball Women’s National Team and the remaining WNBA All-Stars. This 20th All-Star Game will take place on Saturday, July 20, at 5:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. ET at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, home of the three-time WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury, and will air on ABC.

The familiar format of Team USA versus Team WNBA brings back memories of the 2021 All-Star Game, which also featured this exciting matchup. With booming interest in the league and an impressive rookie class this year, fan voting is expected to be particularly impactful. This format, used previously in 2021, saw Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale lead Team WNBA to a 93-85 victory over the USA Basketball Women’s National Team, earning MVP honors with her 26-point performance.

Team USA vs. Team WNBA

With the USA Basketball Women’s National Team aiming for its eighth consecutive gold medal at the Paris Olympics, the twelve Olympians selected have already set the stage for an exciting All-Star Game and a little bit of (ridiculous) controversy when rookie Caitlin Clark wasn’t selected to represent the United States. A little more on that in a second. Here’s the US Womens Olympic Basketball Roster (in last name alphabetical order):

• Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx)
• Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury)
• Chelsea Gray (Las Vegas Aces)
• Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury)
• Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty)
• Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm)
• Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces)
• Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty)
• Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun)
• A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces)
• Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces)

This is a stacked roster even if the new WNBA viewers don’t recognize ten of the players’ names. If we were using one of the best betting sites provided by betting.us, we would put some duckets down on Team USA.

Let’s address Caitlin Clark quickly here. Despite Clark’s popularity, we 100% agree with the twelve selected for Team USA and wouldn’t have chosen any one player differently – these are truly the 12 best American players. This is the rare instance where we see no All-Star snubs.

Who Will Be On Team WNBA All-Star Roster?

So who will be on Team WNBA? Technically it will be chosen by votes from fans, coaches, players, and media members. WNBA All-Star voting kicked off on June 13th and concludes on June 29 which incorporated fan input (50%), current WNBA players (25%), and media members (25%). The top 10 vote-getters – that aren’t on Team USA — from this combination of voting will automatically secure spots in the All-Star Game. Coaches will then select the remaining two players from the next 36 highest vote-getters,  Here’s Interbasket’s predictions and selections for the Team WNBA roster in order of whom we think deserves a spot:

1. Jonquel Jones
2. DeWanna Bonner
3. Kayla McBride
4. Dearica Hamby
5. Arike Ogunbowale
6. Nneka Ogwumike
7. Caitlin Clark
8. Allisha Gray
9. Skylar Diggins
10. Rhyne Howard
11. Angel Reese
12. Brionna Jones

Let’s get this out of the way —  Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will get voted in by the fans. The two rookies are having great seasons and actually deserve to make the team. We all know about Clark, but Reese is putting up a double double every night.

Jonquel Jones, DeWanna Bonner and Kayla McBride should be added as significant contributors to the three best teams in the league – Connecticut Sun, New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx. They would be the biggest snubs. From a individual performance standpoint Dearica Hamby is anchoring the Sparks frontcourt. Hamby is averaging a double-double for the Sparks (18 and 10 rebouds). Nneka Ogwumike is doing the same for the Seattle Storm. Arike Ogunbowale is doing what she does every season: scoring a lot on really poor field goal percentage (25ppg on 35% shooting).

Then we think Allisha Gray, Skylar Diggins, and Rhyne Howard should be on the team. They all are having very good seasons abeit on average teams. The last spot should go to Brionna Jones as the third best player on the #1 Connecticut Sun.

Unfortunately with fan voting, we can see rookie Cameron Brink making the team due to her popularity and media coverage. Brink’s going to be a very good player, but she shouldn’t be taking a spot over any of the above players.

Honorable mentions go to Marina Mabrey and Ezi Magbegor. The Team WNBA roster will be announced on July 2.

About WNBA All-Star Weekend

The All-Star Game will not only serve as a send-off for WNBA players competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics but also be the highlight of two full days of WNBA activities. These events include ESPN’s presentation of the STARRY® WNBA 3-Point Contest and the Kia WNBA Skills Challenge on Friday, July 19, at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET at the Footprint Center. Additionally, the third annual WNBA Live, presented by U.S. Bank, will take place at the Phoenix Convention Center from July 19-20, celebrating the intersection of the WNBA, fashion, music, and culture.