The reserves for the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game were announced on Saturday, and to little surprise, MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun and Washington Mystics star Elena Delle Donne were among the headliners. Other notable players who made the cut were Napheesa Collier, Kelsey Plum and Courtney Vandersloot.
Once again, the league is using a captain's picks format, and for the second consecutive year that honor went to reigning MVP A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces and Breanna Stewart, star forward for the New York Liberty. Those two will make their selections during a live draft special on July 8.
This year's festivities will take place in Las Vegas from July 14-15. First up is All-Star Friday Night, which will feature the Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest, followed by the All-Star Game on Saturday afternoon. The league also announced that the two teams will be coached by Becky Hammon of the Aces and Stephanie White of the Sun; they earned those nods by having the best record in their respective conferences at this point in the season.
Here's a look at the full list of 12 reserves, which were selected by the league's coaches, who could not vote for their own players. They chose three guards, five frontcourt players and four wildcards.
Reserves
| Player | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|
DeWanna Bonner | Connecticut Sun | Frontcourt |
Napheesa Collier | Minnesota Lynx | Frontcourt |
Kahleah Copper | Chicago Sky | Guard |
Elena Delle Donne | Washington Mystics | Frontcourt |
Allisha Gray | Atlanta Dream | Guard |
Sabrina Ionescu | New York Liberty | Guard |
Ezi Magbegor | Seattle Storm | Frontcourt |
Kelsey Mitchell | Indiana Fever | Guard |
Cheyenne Parker | Atlanta Dream | Frontcourt |
Kelsey Plum | Las Vegas Aces | Guard |
Alyssa Thomas | Connecticut Sun | Frontcourt |
Courtney Vandersloot | New York Liberty | Guard |
There's not a whole lot of surprise here. Thomas, Delle Donne and Collier were locks in the frontcourt, while the same can be said about Plum, Gray and Ionescu in the backcourt. Looking further down the line, it was pretty clear Bonner, Parker and Magbegor would also make the cut, and so would Vandersloot. The final choices when you looked at guards were a bit tricky, but Copper and Mitchell are more than deserving.
One item to note is that Brionna Jones did not make the cut due to injury, which is unfortunate. She was fully deserving and would have been a lock if she hadn't torn her Achilles tendon late last month. It would have been cool if the coaches still selected her and then just let the commissioner name an injury replacement.
Some players who just missed the cut include Los Angeles Sparks guard Jordin Canada, Mystics guard Natasha Cloud, Dream guard Rhyne Howard, Fever forward NaLyssa Smith and Liberty forward Natasha Howard.
