The WNBA announced its All-Star Game starters Wednesday, and Lynx center Sylvia Fowles — in her final season — is one of them.
Fowles was named to the game for the eighth time. And the league has something special planned for both Fowles and Seattle guard Sue Bird, who recently announced she was playing her final season, too.
Bird, an All-Star for a record 13th time, and Fowles will be co-captains for the game. Normally the top two vote-getters — this year it was forwards A'ja Wilson (Las Vegas) and Breanna Stewart (Seattle) — are captains, but the league decided to honor the two veterans by having four co-captains for the game.
Phoenix center Brittney Griner, currently detained in Russia, was named an honorary All-Star starter.
The game will be played at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on July 10.
Fan voting accounted for 50 percent of the selection process for the starters, with players and selected media accounting for 25 percent each. Six frontcourt players and four guards were selected.
Along with Stewart, Wilson and Fowles, Jonquel Jones (Connecticut), Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles) and Candace Parker (Chicago) were named as starters. The starting guards are Bird, Sabrina Ionescu (New York) and Las Vegas teammates Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young.
Ionescu, Plum and Young will be making their All-Star Game debuts.
The co-captains will select the rosters for the two teams during ESPN's broadcast of the All-Star team selection special on July 2 at 2 p.m. They will first choose from the pool of starters and then move onto the pool of 12 reserves. Reserve players will be announced Tuesday.
