2015 WNBA All-Star Notes
Hanging out at #WNBAAllStar with @catchin24 pic.twitter.com/or88LFSDBU
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 24, 2015
Rosters || WNBA All-Star Infographic || League statistical leaders || All-Stars on social media at Mohegan Sun || All-Star voting returns || All-Star Game history
2015 WNBA All-Star Game, 3:30 p.m. ET, Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn. TV: ABC. Stream: ESPN 3.
- Tamika Catchings will be playing in her tenth All-Star Game, the most of any WNBA player ever. She plans to retire after this season so this weekend marks her last All-Star appearance.
- Elena Delle Donne, a third-time All-Star, comes into the weekend leading the league in scoring (24.5 ppg), third in rebounds (9.8rpg), third in blocks (2.5bpg) and third in minutes (34.3mpg).
- Britney Griner, another three-time All-Star participant, leads the league in blocks per game, averaging four swats per contest.
- Guards Riquna Williams (Tulsa Shock), Kayla McBride (San Antonio Stars) and center Jantel Lavender (Los Angeles Sparks) replaced three injured players. The trio are making their All-Star debuts and fill the spots on the Western Conference roster vacated by Minnesota Lynx guards Seimone Augustus and Lindsay Whalen and Tulsa Shock guard Skylar Diggins.
- Augustus, who has missed the last two games with a knee injury, and Diggins, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on June 28, had been selected as starters by fans during All-Star Balloting.
- Whalen, who was poked in the eye during a game at Tulsa on July 19, was picked as a reserve by the Western Conference head coaches.
- Williams, a member of the All-Rookie Team in 2012 and the league’s Sixth Woman of the Year in 2013, owns the WNBA single-game scoring record (51 points at San Antonio on Sept. 8, 2013). Now in her fourth eason, she ranks second on the Shock in scoring (14.7 ppg) behind Diggins and shares the team lead in steals (1.6 spg).
- McBride, a unanimous selection to the 2014 WNBA All-Rookie Team after being the No. 3 overall pick in 2014 draft, is leading the Stars in scoring (14.0 ppg) for the second consecutive year. She plays alongside point guard and fellow All-Star Danielle Robinson.
- Lavender has started all 15 games for the Sparks and averaging career highs in scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg, sixth in the league).
- Guards Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm and DeWanna Bonner of the Phoenix Mercury were named starters to replace Diggins and Augustus in the West’s starting lineup.
- There are no rookies on this year’s All-Star rosters.
- Last season, Atlanta Dream guard Shoni Schimmel was named the game’s MVP after scoring an All-Star record 29 points. She became the first rookie to win the award.
- The full list of first-time All-Stars
- Alex Bentley (Connecticut)
- Kelsey Bone (Connecticut)
- Marissa Coleman (Indiana)
- Stefanie Dolson (Washington)
- Emma Meesseman (Washington)
- DeWanna Bonner (Phoenix)
- Jantel Lavender (Los Angeles)
- Kayla McBride (San Antonio)
- Plenette Pierson (Tulsa)
- Riquna Williams (Tulsa)
EASTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS
Head Coach: Pokey Chatman (Chicago Sky)
| Player | Team | Position | Ht. | From |
| Alex Bentley^ | Sun | Backcourt | 5-7 | Penn State |
| Kelsey Bone^ | Sun | Frontcourt | 6-4 | Texas A&M |
| Tamika Catchings* | Fever | Frontcourt | 6-1 | Tennessee |
| Tina Charles* | Liberty | Frontcourt | 6-4 | Connecticut |
| Marissa Coleman^ | Fever | Backcourt | 6-1 | Maryland |
| Elena Delle Donne* | Sky | Frontcourt | 6-5 | Delaware |
| Stefanie Dolson^ | Mystics | Frontcourt | 6-5 | Connecticut |
| Angel McCoughtry* | Dream | Frontcourt | 6-1 | Louisville |
| Emma Meesseman^ | Mystics | Frontcourt | 6-4 | Belgium |
| Cappie Pondexter | Sky | Backcourt | 5-9 | Rutgers |
| Shoni Schimmel | Dream | Backcourt | 5-9 | Louisville |
WESTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS
Head Coach: Sandy Brondello (Phoenix Mercury)
| Player | Team | Position | Ht. | From |
| Seimone Augustus* | Lynx | Backcourt | 6-0 | LSU |
| Sue Bird | Storm | Backcourt | 5-9 | Connecticut |
| DeWanna Bonner^ | Mercury | Backcourt | 6-4 | Auburn |
| Skylar Diggins* | Shock | Backcourt | 5-9 | Notre Dame |
| Candice Dupree* | Mercury | Frontcourt | 6-2 | Temple |
| Brittney Griner* | Mercury | Frontcourt | 6-8 | Baylor |
| Jantel Lavender** | Sparks | Frontcourt | 6-4 | Ohio State |
| Kayla McBride** | Stars | Backcourt | 5-11 | Notre Dame |
| Maya Moore | Lynx | Frontcourt | 6-0 | Connecticut |
| Nneka Ogwumike | Sparks | Frontcourt | 6-2 | Stanford |
| Plenette Pierson^ | Shock | Frontcourt | 6-2 | Texas Tech |
| Danielle Robinson | Stars | Backcourt | 5-9 | Oklahoma |
| Lindsey Whalen@ | Lynx | Backcourt | 5-9 | Minnesota |
| Riquna Williams** | Shock | Backccourt | 5-7 | Miami (Fla.) |
* denotes starter, as voted by the fans
@ denotes injured/unable to play
^ denotes first-time All-Star selection
** denotes replacement player added to roster by WNBA President Laurel J. Richie
Eastern Conference Final Returns Leaders
Backcourt: Elena Delle Donne (Chi) 18,034; Shoni Schimmel (Atl) 8,881; Cappie Pondexter (Chi) 4,877; Ivory Latta (Was) 4,159; Courtney Vandersloot (Chi) 3,833; Alex Bentley (Con) 3,363; Marissa Coleman (Ind) 2,528; Allie Quigley (Chi) 2,416; Briann January (Ind) 2,143; Tiffany Hayes (Atl) 2,033; Brittany Boyd (NY) 2,032; Kara Lawson (Was) 2,011; Bria Hartley (Was) 1,837; Shavonte Zellous (Ind) 1,365; Sugar Rodgers (NY) 1,304
Frontcourt: Tamika Catchings (Ind) 9,923; Angel McCoughtry (Atl) 7,619; Tina Charles (NY) 6,129; Emma Meesseman (Was) 4,710; Natalie Achonwa (Ind) 3,779; Stefanie Dolson (Was) 3,001; Erika de Souza (Atl) 2,746; Swin Cash (NY) 2,391; Kiah Stokes (NY) 2,352; Chiney Ogwumike (Con) 2,039; Kelsey Bone (Con) 1,993; Alyssa Thomas (Con) 1,833; Sancho Lyttle (Atl) 1,642; Camille Little (Con) 1,306
Western Conference Final Returns Leaders
Backcourt: Skylar Diggins (Tul) 15,895; Seimone Augustus (Min) 9,599; Sue Bird (Sea) 8,088; Lindsay Whalen (Min) 7,294; DeWanna Bonner (Phx) 6,154; Kayla McBride (SA) 3,537; Jewell Loyd (Sea) 2,911; Odyssey Sims (Tul) 2,807; Leilani Mitchell (Phx) 1,583; Monica Wright (Min) 1,570; Kristi Toliver (1,510); Renee Montgomery (Sea) 1,321
Frontcourt: Maya Moore (Min) 13,706; Brittney Griner (Phx) 7,138; Candice Dupree (Phx) 5,954; Ramu Tokashiki (Sea) 5,512; Nneka Ogwumike (LA) 4,880; Rebekkah Brunson (Min) 4,138; Courtney Paris (Tul) 2,591; Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Sea) 2,161; Plenette Pierson (Tul) 2,018; Devereaux Peters (Min) 1,553; Jantel Lavender (LA) 1,386; Damiris Dantas (Min) 1,365
WNBA ALL-STAR GAME HISTORY
Date Location W L
July 14, 1999 Madison Square Garden (New York) West 79 East 61
July 17, 2000 America West Arena (Phoenix) West 73 East 61
July 16, 2001 TD Waterhouse Centre (Orlando) West 80 East 72
July 15, 2002 MCI Center (Washington) West 81 East 76
July 12, 2003 Madison Square Garden (New York) West 84 East 75
July 9, 2005 Mohegan Sun Arena (Connecticut) West 122 East 99
July 12, 2006 Madison Square Garden (New York) East 98 West 82
July 15, 2007 Verizon Center (Washington) East 103 West 99
July 25, 2009 Mohegan Sun Arena (Connecticut) West 133 East 118
July 23, 2011 AT&T Center (San Antonio) East 118 West 113
July 27, 2013 Mohegan Sun Arena (Connecticut) West 102 East 98
July 19, 2014 US Airways Center (Phoenix) East 125 West 124
* No All-Star Game was held in 2004, 2008, and 2012 due to the Olympic Games in Athens, Beijing, and London, respectively. Similarly, no All-Star Game was played in 2010 due to the FIBA World Championships in Czech Republic. An exhibition game was conducted at Radio City Music Hall in the summer of 2004, and in 2010, an exhibition game was held at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., with a USA vs. WNBA format in the “WNBA vs. USA Basketball: The Stars at the Sun.”
