Team USA’s toughest competition this summer may come in a matchup with a team of WNBA All-Stars.
The 2021 WNBA All-Star Game will be like none before. In a new format, the 12 players who are set to compete for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics will play against the 12 All-Stars, who were selected by WNBA head coaches from a pool of 36 following media, player, and fan votes. The game will tip on July 14 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN in Las Vegas, which is the site of Team USA’s men’s and women’s basketball exhibition tours. Team USA’s roster includes Ariel Atkins, Sue Bird, Tina Charles, Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Chelsea Gray, Sylvia Fowles, Brittney Griner, Jewell Loyd, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, and A’ja Wilson. They will be coached by Dawn Staley. The WNBA All-Star roster: DeWanna Bonner, Liz Cambage, Kahleah Copper, Dearica Hamby, Brionna Jones, Jonquel Jones, Betnijah Laney, Arike Ogunbowale, Candace Parker, Satou Sabally, Courtney Vandersloot, and Courtney Williams. They will be co-head coached by Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson. Here’s a few reasons why you should be excited for Wednesday’s game. 1. This is probably the best competition Team USA will have all summer Team USA’s women’s basketball team is super stacked. Like absurdly loaded. There’s a reason they’re pursuing a seventh consecutive gold medal. Who has the size, talent, and range to contain Griner, Stewart, Wilson, Charles, Fowles, and Taurasi? The answer might only be the All-Star team, which is stocked with a couple players who could give Team USA serious trouble, including Parker, Cambage, Jones and Bonner.
