Sue Bird and Ivory Latta named as replacement players for 2014 WNBA All-Star game

Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm and Ivory Latta of the Washington Mystics have been named by WNBA President Laurel J. Richie as replacement players for the 2011 WNBA All-Star game, the league announced today.

Bird will join the Western Conference roster, filling the spot of Minnesota Lynx guard Seimone Augustus, who has missed the last six games due to bursitis in her left knee. Latta joins the Eastern Conference roster in place of frontcourt star Elena Delle Donne, who has been sidelined for 12 of the Chicago Sky’s last 13 games due to the effects of Lyme disease. Delle Donne had been voted into the game as a starter by fans, while Augustus was selected as a reserve by Western Conference head coaches.

For the 33-year-old Bird, this marks her eighth All-Star appearance, having previously been voted as a starter seven times. The two-time WNBA champion most recently participated in the 2011 All-Star event held in San Antonio, when the league officially unveiled and honored its Top 15 Players of All Time, of which Bird was a member. Now in her 12th WNBA campaign, the former University of Connecticut standout ranks second in WNBA history in total assists (2,035) and assists per game (5.4).

Latta, who participated in her first WNBA All-Star event last year as a reserve, currently leads the Mystics in scoring (11.0 ppg). The former University of North Carolina star is also tied for second in the league in three-point field goals made this season (42).

Eastern Conference Head Coach Michael Cooper will select a player to start in place of Delle Donne.

The All-Star game will take place at US Airways Center in Phoenix on Saturday, July 19, and will be nationally televised on ESPN, with tip-off at 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. PT).