WNBA All-Star Game: Top Performances, Stats, and Fan Engagement

The WNBA All-Star game is one of the most awaited events in an active WNBA season. It is the only time when fans are presented with an opportunity to see their favorite superstars who they have been watching on television screens or from their seats at a stadium come together and play with each other on the same side. The WNBA All-Star weekend brings an elevated level of excitement to the entire community as it fulfills the dreams of seeing your idols team up with their rivals who they have been competing against the whole season.

The WNBA All-Star game usually takes place in the middle of the season. The WNBA All-Star game gives the players a unique opportunity to showcase their talents and elite balling skills to the maximum as there are no direct consequences to losing an All-Star game. This event is a way for the league to celebrate the sport and give back to the fans, the community and the players who have supported them throughout the entire season. So let’s take a look at some of the most memorable moments in the WNBA All-Star game history.

Memorable WNBA All-Star Games in History

2001: Lisa Leslie’s Record-Breaking Performance

Looking back at it, the 2001 WNBA All-Star game was a special one. It featured some of the best players to have ever played in the WNBA going against each other while representing their respective conferences. The Eastern Conference team comprised of legends like Dawn Staley and Teresa Weatherspoon, however, the Western Conference had one of the greatest female players to touch a basketball, Lisa Leslie.

Leslie then played for the Los Angeles Sparks and was an absolute monster on the court. She dominated the entire all-star game with her elite shooting and passing skills. Thanks to her the West grabbed an easy 80-72 victory over the East. Leslies was the first woman in the WNBA to dunk which made a dominant figure in the league. She lived up to it at the 2001 all-star game as she netted in 20 points and collected 9 rebounds to help her conference secure the win.

2013: Candace Parker Dominates

The 2013 WNBA All-Star game was all about the league’s newest superstar, Candace Parker. The Los Angeles Sparks player had arguably entered her prime with the Sparks in 2013 after she was drafted as the number one overall pick at the 2008 WNBA draft. On her team, Parker was accompanied by arguably one of the greatest if not the greatest WNBA player, Maya Moore. However, despite the presence of a legend, a young Candace Parker stole the show.

The Western Conference had started the game strongly and established an early lead in the first quarter, however, the East were tenacious and closed the gap between them by halftime. They started to dominate and by the end of the third quarter, the East led the game by 11 points. That is when Candace Parker took over the entire game and started making plays that left the fans cheering for her. She scored a record 23 points to help the Western Conference secure a 102-98 victory.

 2019: Brittney Griner’s Dunk

The 2019 WNBA All-Star game was a special one for the Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner. The Mercury star had everyone in the crowd standing up in excitement at multiple moments. Griner is one of the finest bigs to ever play in the WNBA and in the 2019 WNBA All-Star game she proved her worth as one of the top tier centers in the league. The Phoenix Mercury star slammed in three dunks during the game which had the fans cheering her name for the incredible spectacle.

Grinner had 16 points and collected nine rebounds in 17 minutes on the field. She was a part of Team Stewart who ended up losing the game against Team Wilson with a final score of 129-126.

2021: Team WNBA vs. Team USA

The year 2021 saw a change in the usual format of the WNBA Al-Star game. This time instead of representing the Western and Eastern Conferences, the WNBA players went up against the USA Women’s National Basketball Team who were bound to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. This format was introduced to help the USA Women’s National Basketball practice before the Olympics as well as entertain the WNBA fans. The players who shined during the matchup were Breanna Stewart wearing a USA Jersey and Arike Ogunbowale wearing a WNBA jersey.

Stewart netted 15 points, collected six rebounds and dished out three assists. On the other hand, Arike Ogunbowale dominated the entire court with her strength and speed. She scored 26 points to help Team WNBA grab a 93-85 victory over the Women’s Team USA.

WNBA All Star Game Stats History

First Triple-Double in All-Star Game

WNBA legend Sherly Swoopes was the first WNBA athlete to record a triple-double at a WNBA All-Star game. She achieved this feat at the 1999 All-Star Game held on 27 July. That triple-double was significant to the career of Swoopes as it added on to her legacy as one of the greatest to ever play the game. In that game, Swoopes scored 14 points, collected 15 rebounds and dished out 10 assists.

First WNBA All-Star MVP

League icon Lisa Leslie was the inaugral WNBA All-Star MVP. Leslie earned the fame after she delivered a great performance at the 1999 All-Star game. After that game, Leslie went on to become a staple inclusion in future All-Star games. She retired as an eight-time WNBA All-Star and a three-time WNBA All-Star MVP.

All-Star Game Attendance Records

The WNBA and Women’s basketball in general have struggled to grab the attention of the fans and convert them into attendance in stadiums. The WNBA All-Star games have usually have averaged attendance between 7000-15000. However, as per Statista, there were two years when the WNBA All-Star games saw record-breaking attendance. The 2002 and 2007 All-Star games saw a record attendance of 19,487 people attending the game at the MCI Center in Washington in 2002 and at Verizon Center in Washington in 2007.

Most Appearances in WNBA All-Star Games

WNBA Icon Sue Bird holds the record for the most appearances made at the WNBA All-Star games. During her time as a player she played for the Seattle Storm and was selected as an All-Star 13 times in her career. Out of those thirteen times she made nine appearances as an All-Star starter and played three from the bench and did not participate in one.

WNBA All-Star Game MVPs: A Legacy of Excellence

Notable MVPs Over the Years

Over the years there have been many All-Star MVPs in these WNBA All-Star games, however, no one comes close to Lisa Leslie and Maya Moore when it comes to their impact on the game. Lisa Leslie and Maya Moore can be solely held responsible for laying down the foundation of the modern-day WNBA. They were the very first players who played with passion and attracted the audience to their games. Without them, the WNBA would not have been able to see its meteoric rise in 2024 after the arrival of Caitlin Clark and the members of her draft class.

Multiple-Time MVPs

The only players to win the All-Star MVP honor three times are Lisa Leslie and Maya Moore. Apart from them, Swin Cash is the only WNBA player to win two All-MVP honors trailing behind the league legends.

How the MVP Award is Decided

The WNBA All-Star game MVP is decided by a panel of media members judging the performance of the WNBA stars playing in the game.

Fan Engagement in the WNBA All-Star Game Over the Years

The Evolution of Fan Voting

In the early days before the dominant age of Internet, the WNBA All-Star players was selected through a league body consisting of league personnel, head coaches and media personalities. However, ever since the dawn of the internet age, the WNBA changed the process to give their fans more power. So, now the WNBA all-stars are selected directly by the fans who go and vote for their favorite players on the official WNBA website.

Fan Events and All-Star Weekend

As mentioned before the WNBA All-Star weekend is the league’s way of giving back to the fans and the community. So apart from the standard All-Star game, there are plenty of fun events that the players and the fans enjoy. The most famous ones are the skills competition and the three-point shooting competition. In the skills competition, the participating WNBA stars have to compete in an obstacle course with the basketball and sometimes without it. The player who completes the course the fastest is announced as the winner.

For the three-point shooting competition, the participating WNBA players go around the three-point perimeter shooting the ball place on the racks at different spots. Each ball has a different point value with the money ball being the most valuable one. The player who scores down the most for downtown is announced as the winner of the game.

Apart from these, there are also meet and greets that the fans get to have with the WNBA players. The WNBA All-Star weekend is truly a fun ride for any WNBA fan.

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