Marina Mabrey will play in her first WNBA All-Star Game and Nneka Ogwumike will appear in her 11th later this month after they were among the 12 players named reserves for the showcase on Monday.
Angel Reese, Kelsey Plum and Jonquel Jones were among the other familiar names headed to Chicago for the July 25 game. The starters were previously announced.
WNBA legends Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon will serve as honorary general managers and draft the teams for this year’s game as part of the league’s 30th anniversary celebration.
While the starters were picked by a combination of fan, player and media balloting, reserves were chosen by the league’s 15 head coaches, who could not vote for their own players. They were selected regardless of conference.
Mabrey, 29, is a first-time All-Star in her eighth season in the league. She joined the expansion Toronto Tempo in the offseason and tied the league’s single-game records of 53 points and nine 3-pointers last month against the Los Angeles Sparks. Mabrey is averaging a career-high 21.1 points per game along with 3.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. She has made 67 3-pointers, tied for the league lead, on 39.9% from the arc.
The other first-time All-Star among the reserves is Dominique Malonga of the Storm. The 20-year-old is pacing Seattle with 15.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in her second WNBA campaign.
Ogwumike, who turned 36 this month, garnered her 11th All-Star nod to tie Diana Taurasi for second-most in league history behind Sue Bird’s 13. In the first year of her second stint with the Los Angeles Sparks, she is putting up 16.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
Reese made it three All-Star selections in three years in the league, though it’s the first with her new team, the Atlanta Dream. Through 21 games, Reese has scored a career-best 14.9 points per game and tops the league at 11.8 rebounds per game.
Reese was one of three Dream players named reserves, along with Allisha Gray and Rhyne Howard. They’re joined by Sonia Citron (Washington), Plum (Los Angeles), Courtney Williams (Minnesota) and Jackie Young (Las Vegas) in the backcourt and Kiki Iriafen (Washington) and Jones (New York) in the frontcourt.
All-Star starters:
–Aliyah Boston, Indiana
–Paige Bueckers, Dallas
–Caitlin Clark, Indiana
–Natasha Howard, Minnesota
–Olivia Miles, Minnesota
–Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana
–Jessica Shepard, Dallas
–Breanna Stewart, New York
–Gabby Williams, Golden State
–A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas
All-Star backcourt reserves:
–Sonia Citron, Washington
–Allisha Gray, Atlanta
–Rhyne Howard, Atlanta
–Marina Mabrey, Toronto
–Kelsey Plum, Los Angeles
–Courtney Williams, Minnesota
–Jackie Young, Las Vegas
All-Star frontcourt reserves:
–Kiki Iriafen, Washington
–Jonquel Jones, New York
–Dominique Malonga, Seattle
–Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles
–Angel Reese, Atlanta
–Field Level Media
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