Reigning MVP drafts Aces teammates for WNBA All-Star Game

A’ja Wilson is preparing for her third stint as a WNBA All-Star captain. She still doesn’t have a master plan for her All-Star draft process.

But her approach to Saturday’s draft during the WNBA’s All-Star Selection Show was simple. She stuck with her teammates and college connections. Chosen as an All-Star captain after receiving the most fan votes among all players, she added Aces teammates Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum to Team Wilson, which will face off against New York Liberty forward and fellow All-Star captain Breanna Stewart’s team.

The 2023 WNBA All-Star Game will be held at Michelob Ultra Arena at 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Aces coach Becky Hammon will lead Team Wilson, while Connecticut Sun coach Stephanie White will guide Team Stewart.

Wilson selected Gray with her first pick, then added Young second after Stewart took Phoenix center Brittney Griner. Young was the only Aces player not on Team Wilson during the 2022 All-Star game, which resulted in Wilson and Hammon calling triple teams against Young and aggressively denying her the ball.

Wilson, the reigning MVP, took Plum with her first reserve pick. The former University of Washington guard is the reigning All-Star MVP after scoring 30 points in the past year’s game.

“You better pick me,” Plum told Wilson earlier this month, “or I’m going to cook you.”

Wilson rounded out her starters with Indiana Fever rookie Aliyah Boston, a fellow South Carolina alum, and Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale.

Atlanta Dream wing Allisha Gray, another Gamecock, joined Team Wilson in the reserve round along with Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas, Sun wing DeWanna Bonner, Dream center Cheyenne Parker and Washington Mystics center Elena Delle Donne.

Stewart’s team also featured several current and former teammates. Her second pick was Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd, who won two championships with Stewart, and she also added Wings forward Satou Sabally and Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike to her starting lineup.

The former MVP’s reserve selection began with two Liberty teammates, Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionescu, another former Seattle comrade in Storm center Ezi Magbegor and fellow UConn alum Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx. Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell and Chicago Sky wing Kahleah Copper completed Team Stewart.

Team Wilson defeated Team Stewart 134-112 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago during the 2022 All-Star Game.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.