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PHOENIX — Cheryl Reeve anticipated that it would be difficult for her to focus on coaching Team USA in the 2024 All-Star Game because of everything that was happening at the team’s training camp in Phoenix.
“I think this game today is one of the greatest spectacles in the history of our league,” Reeve said before Team USA’s 117-109 loss to the WNBA team here at the Footprint Center on Saturday night. “The excitement that exists for not only the national team, but for some of the All-Star players representing the W, I think all of that comes together at once, which makes it incredibly exciting.”
That was felt throughout the city, including at a packed WNBA Live hours before the sold-out game. Celebrities and icons including Aubrey Plaza, Jason Sudeikis, Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Sheryl Swoopes, Shannon Sharpe and Paige Bueckers filled the stands. Players appeared at back-to-back activations over the past 48 hours wearing branding, surprising long lines of fans and signing autographs.
Reeve, a legendary coach who led the Minnesota Lynx to four WNBA championships in seven years, said she was “thrilled to have the opportunity to have a great seat” for the spectacle. But the storylines and distractions certainly took a toll on Team USA, which held its first training camp here a week before the Paris Olympics with the Games more on its mind than an All-Star celebration finally worthy of the league’s talent.
He was also right that the stories that will emerge from the contest are plentiful.
Team USA will be fine
The U.S. team didn’t look good, turning the ball over 14 times, mostly on careless passes. And defensively, giving up 117 points won’t solve the problem in Paris. Still, there’s no reason to panic.
“We have work to do,” Reeve said. “And we know it.”
This is a new group that has barely been together, much like the current version. Team USA only had two practices on consecutive days and a shootaround on Saturday morning before the game. That’s not a lot of time for a group that has never played together.
“This is not a time to panic, but a time to learn and grow,” said two-time Olympic gold medalist Breanna Stewart.
The national team doesn’t always have the same 12 players, even if some players are used to playing together on previous teams. Reeve said the muscle memory of players used to playing with the WNBA teams they played with in the past influenced their adaptations.
“You’re not going to be able to get to those spots instinctively if it’s different than what you’ve been doing,” Reeve said. “So we have to very, very quickly replace some of the things that you’re doing for other teams.”
In defense, Stewart said the team needs to be on the same page and wasn’t on Saturday night. That can be fixed with time and space because of the hectic nature of an All-Star weekend, where players have responsibilities to their brand associations and the league. The team will head to London for an exhibition game against Germany before the Games open.
“I’ve been saying it since I got here, and Phoenix has been a great host, but I can’t wait to get to London where we can really focus,” said Stewart, one of the team’s new point guards alongside A’ja Wilson. “Just because of the other things, the commitments you have and the things that are going on during All-Star weekend, it’s hard to balance (with) what we’re doing to prepare for the Olympics. Now we can just focus on America.”
The WNBA team was motivated and featured the following 12 best players in the country right now. They are better than many nations the United States will face in international competition.
“This is our first test and I’m glad we got it. It’s something we needed as well, just like a couple of years ago,” Wilson said.
Team USA also lost to the WNBA team in 2021, yet still won its seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal.
“Four years ago, the WNBA beat Team USA,” said future team player Caitlin Clark. “They were perfectly fine at the Olympics. If anything, it shows how good this league is.”
Arike Ogunbowale came to life thanks to Cheryl Miller
Arike Ogunbowale said the WNBA team “got wind” that Team USA was going to come out swinging and tied it at one possession in the first half. She didn’t hear, nor was there any indication, that coach Chery Miller would challenge her at halftime.
“I didn’t expect him to say my name,” Ogunbowale said. “He was talking about the team and he pointed at me. And I was like, ‘OK. He just told me to take a deep breath and play my game. ’”
The Wings’ point guard play is destroying Team USA. She scored a game-high 26 points en route to MVP honors in the 2021 WNBA Team’s win over Team USA. This time, she scored 21 points in the third quarter alone after a scoreless first half and finished with 34 to secure her second All-Star Game MVP award. Ogunbowale could hardly miss from the 3-point line, hitting 5 of 7 to bring the Phoenix fans to their feet every time she pulled up from deep.
“As a scorer, when you see a pair go down like that, you have all the confidence in the world. The basket looks so big,” Clark said. “I know exactly how it felt. I was in the zone. And they really played good defense, multiple times. There’s nothing you can do in those situations where she’s doing step-back 3s, one-legged floaters, stuff like that. You literally can’t defend that.”
Clark said she looks up to Ogunbowale as one of the league’s best one-on-one players. She has been selected to the All-Star Game four times in her six-year career, during which she has played in just five. The 34 points are an All-Star Game record, breaking the 31 scored by Jewell Loyd last year. Stewart matched that mark with 31 for Team USA along with 10 rebounds.
Ogunbowale is not on the national team because she withdrew her name, citing “politics” in the committee’s decision-making on talent. She is the fourth player in league history to earn multiple WNBA All-Star honors, joining Lisa Leslie (three times), Maya Moore (three times) and Swin Cash (twice).
The rookies continued their stellar seasons with historic All-Star rookie marks. Clark played the most minutes on Team WNBA in the first half and kept the ball moving to keep the game close. She finished with 10 assists, one shy of the record set by Sue Bird in 2017.
“That’s Sue’s record. I can’t take it away from her. She’s my buddy,” Clark said.
It is, however, a record for a rookie in the All-Star Game. And it showed the importance of chemistry and timing, as some of her passes near the paint seemed to surprise the bigs. She fed Fever teammate Aliyah Boston for her first and gave rookie Angel Reese her 10th of the night. Later in the game, she appeared to knock the ball out of Ogunbowale’s hands as the star faced Team USA one-on-one.
Reese played much of the second half with 12 points and 11 rebounds. It was the first double-double by a rookie in WNBA All-Star history. She had four points and seven rebounds in 3:23 of the first half.
Allisha Gray isn’t a rookie, but she also came close to a record. Her five steals were one shy of Ruthie Bolton’s six in 2001. It was a continuation of the Atlanta Dream guard’s trajectory.
Give us the USA-WNBA All-Star team every year
Not only was this the most competitive WNBA All-Star Game ever, but it might be the most competitive in any sport — at least this year. The game felt like a big deal throughout, and while there were some funny little moments (Clark smiling after a 3-point attempt she felt she should have taken, or Kelsey Mitchell and Kelsey Plum tying it up), it was a quality game.
But don’t expect it to happen every year without major changes to the WNBA schedule.
“When it’s not an Olympic year, I don’t want to play defense,” Wilson said in a playful exchange with Stewart.
Wilson and Stewart agreed that the current format doesn’t allow for a serious All-Star Game because teams play until the night before the Orange Carpet opens the festivities and move on to play a day or two later in a standard year. Stewart said a true break from the condensed schedule could allow for more competitive play.
That’s unlikely. Earlier in the day, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league is considering a 44-game schedule for next season because there’s no Olympic or World Cup to schedule. The league is playing its second 40-game season, and the collective bargaining agreement allows for up to 44. The season’s footprint needs to expand later for it to work. It can’t start any earlier because the NCAA tournament ends the first week of April and the draft a week later. It’s already a bit of a stretch.
