Gambling
WNBA All-Star Game Preview & Best Bets
This is a unique season in the WNBA, not just because of the influx of talented rookies or A’ja Wilson’s eye-popping play. No, the WNBA All-Star Game, which goes down Saturday in Phoenix, will pit the WNBA All-Stars against Team USA as they prepare for the Olympics. Plus, after this weekend, the league will shut down for a month for the Paris Olympics. Here is your WNBA All-Star game preview and best bets.
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WNBA All-Star Game Preview & Best Bets
The uniqueness of this year’s all-star setup means teammates will compete against one another, and players who feel they were snubbed by Team USA will have their chance to take revenge.
Here are the rosters from the WNBA’s press release for the event:
TEAM WNBA
| PLAYER | TEAM | POSITION | HT | BIRTHDATE | COLLEGE | YRS | ASG |
| DeWanna Bonner | Connecticut Sun | Frontcourt | 6-4 | 8/21/87 | Auburn | 14 | 6 |
| Aliyah Boston | Indiana Fever | Frontcourt | 6-5 | 12/11/01 | South Carolina | 1 | 2 |
| Caitlin Clark^ | Indiana Fever | Backcourt | 6-0 | 1/22/02 | Iowa | R | 1 |
| Allisha Gray | Atlanta Dream | Backcourt | 6-0 | 1/2/95 | South Carolina | 7 | 2 |
| Dearica Hamby | Los Angeles Sparks | Frontcourt | 6-3 | 11/6/93 | Wake Forest | 9 | 3 |
| Brionna Jones | Connecticut Sun | Frontcourt | 6-3 | 12/18/95 | Maryland | 7 | 3 |
| Jonquel Jones | New York Liberty | Frontcourt | 6-6 | 1/5/94 | George Washington | 7 | 5 |
| Kayla McBride | Minnesota Lynx | Backcourt | 5-11 | 6/25/92 | Notre Dame | 10 | 4 |
| Kelsey Mitchell | Indiana Fever | Backcourt | 5-8 | 11/12/95 | Ohio State | 6 | 2 |
| Arike Ogunbowale | Dallas Wings | Backcourt | 5-8 | 3/2/97 | Notre Dame | 5 | 4 |
| Nneka Ogwumike | Seattle Storm | Frontcourt | 6-2 | 7/2/90 | Stanford | 12 | 9 |
| Angel Reese^ | Chicago Sky | Frontcourt | 6-3 | 5/6/02 | LSU | R | 1 |
USA WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM
| PLAYER | WNBA TEAM | POSITION | HT | BIRTHDATE | COLLEGE | YRS | ASG |
| Napheesa Collier | Minnesota Lynx | Frontcourt | 6-1 | 9/23/96 | Connecticut | 5 | 4 |
| Kahleah Copper | Phoenix Mercury | Backcourt | 6-1 | 8/28/94 | Rutgers | 8 | 4 |
| Chelsea Gray | Las Vegas Aces | Backcourt | 5-11 | 10/8/92 | Duke | 9 | 6 |
| Brittney Griner | Phoenix Mercury | Frontcourt | 6-9 | 10/18/90 | Baylor | 10 | 10 |
| Sabrina Ionescu | New York Liberty | Backcourt | 5-11 | 12/6/97 | Oregon | 4 | 3 |
| Jewell Loyd | Seattle Storm | Backcourt | 5-10 | 10/5/93 | Notre Dame | 9 | 6 |
| Kelsey Plum | Las Vegas Aces | Backcourt | 5-8 | 8/24/94 | Washington | 6 | 3 |
| Breanna Stewart | New York Liberty | Frontcourt | 6-4 | 8/27/94 | Connecticut | 7 | 6 |
| Diana Taurasi | Phoenix Mercury | Backcourt | 6-0 | 6/11/82 | Connecticut | 19 | 11 |
| Alyssa Thomas | Connecticut Sun | Frontcourt | 6-2 | 4/12/92 | Maryland | 10 | 5 |
| A’ja Wilson | Las Vegas Aces | Frontcourt | 6-4 | 8/8/96 | South Carolina | 6 | 6 |
| Jackie Young | Las Vegas Aces | Backcourt | 6-0 | 9/16/97 | Notre Dame | 5 | 3 |
^ denotes first-time All-Star selection
YRS denotes number of seasons completed entering 2024
ASG denotes number of All-Star selections including 2024
The U.S. Women’s National Team going up against a WNBA All-Star Team isn’t unprecedented, as they squared off in 2021, with the WNBA squad famously being the only team to beat Team USA that Olympic year. Can they pull off a repeat in 2024?
I have to say that I like the WNBA’s chances. While this game will be used as an Olympic warmup for Team USA, it will mean much more than that for the WNBA team. As mentioned above, many of these players (all of these players?) feel that they are good enough to play on the Olympic team, as well. Chips on shoulders can be solid motivation.
Plus, will the Olympic team want to go all out and risk injury heading into the games that matter most in France? The WNBA stars can do just that—go all out—knowing that they have a month off after this to recover before the regular season resumes. And it also helps when you have generational rookies on your team like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
I’ll hedge my bets because I’m a coward and take Team WNBA plus 5.5 points instead of on the moneyline. And with the way she’s been playing lately – plus the All-Star Game being a good format for her skills to shine in – let’s sprinkle some on Caitlin Clark to win MVP of the game.
WNBA All-Star Game Best Bets: WNBA All-Stars +5.5 (-110); Caitlin Clark All-Star Game MVP (+1000)
If you’d like even more information on WNBA gambling, be sure to check out the WNBA Gambling Podcast. The guys are dropping multiple episodes weekly to make you the smartest guy at the bar.
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