An eclectic group of participants will vie for the Kia WNBA Skills Challenge and WNBA STARRY 3-Point Contest trophies at WNBA All-Star 2024 on Friday, July 19 in Phoenix.

The five players who will show off their dribbling, passing and shooting abilities will be:

• Sophie Cunningham (Phoenix Mercury)
• Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream)
• Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury)
• Marina Mabrey (Connecticut Sun)
• Erica Wheeler (Indiana Fever)

A new 3-point queen will be crowned among five contenders:

• Stefanie Dolson (Washington Mystics)
• Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream)
• Jonquel Jones (New York Liberty)
• Marina Mabrey (Connecticut Sun)
• Kayla McBride (Minnesota Lynx)

While Gray and Mabrey will attempt to complete the Skills-3-Point double, Cunningham and Griner will undoubtedly will enjoy the support of the Footprint Center crowd during the Skills Challenge. Although Dolson currently leads the league in 3-point percentage (48.5 percent), McBride likely enters as the favorite, as she has made the most 3-pointers thus far this season (76). On Thursday, WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike announced that Aflac will present a $55,000 bonus to the winners of both contests, providing an extra dose of motivation for all participants.

Here are Swish Appeal’s predictions for who will prevail on Friday night:

Who will win the 2024 WNBA Skills Challenge?

Cat Ariail: Although the Kia Skills Challenge trophy likely was not the hardware the Connecticut Sun prioritized when swinging a trade for Marina Mabrey earlier this week, the contest will allow Mabrey to show off the skills that she will bring to the Sun and their chase for the franchise’s first championship. Mabrey’s competitive fire, which will fit right in with Connecticut’s core, also should serve her well in a challenge where, more often than not, the participant who competes with intensity and aggressiveness comes out on top.

Edwin Garcia: For the Kia Skills Challenge, I think you need a versatile guard with the speed to get through the course the fastest. Based on that assumption, I’m going with Gray. She has the speed, shouldn’t have trouble making the shots and will quickly get through the course. Mabrey and Griner will also be good candidates to win with Mabrey being an elite guard and Griner having the home crowd behind her, but give me Gray and I like my chances.

Eric Nemchock: I’m with Edwin on this one. Gray has been one of the WNBA’s more underrated players for a while now, but her game doesn’t really have any weaknesses, and I think that makes her a good candidate to win the Skills Challenge. She’s about as steady as they come with her all-around contributions and definitely isn’t lacking as a shooter or driver. It’s a timed contest, but Gray is plenty athletic enough, and she’s also a player who rarely makes mistakes and is consistently levelheaded on the court, so I think that will be of benefit to her here.

Who will win the 2024 WNBA 3-Point Contest?

CA: In 2021, Jonquel Jones advanced to the final round of the 3-Point Contest, nearly besting three-time champion Allie Quigley. Jones made 27 3s in the preliminary round and 24 in the final. While totals don’t quite approach the insane numbers posted by Quigley during her reign or Sabrina Ionescu last year, they’re more than good enough to suggest she can take the title in 2024. That Jones shoots the 3-ball with effortless ease, wasting little extra energy, inspires further confidence in the ability of the 6-foot-6 former MVP to become to the first big to win the contest.

EN: Kayla McBride is having a phenomenal year shooting the ball. Not only does she lead the WNBA in 3-pointers made with 74, but she’s the only player in the league with at least 150 3-point attempts to be shooting at least 40 percent on them—42.7 percent, to be exact. Mechanically, McBride has the kind of quick release on her jumpshot (somewhat reminiscent of Quigley’s) that lends itself to success in this type of competition, and given how good she’s been in actual games this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if she kept it rolling and won her first-ever 3-Point Contest.

EG: I’ve learned a long time ago not to underestimate Stefanie Dolson. She’s currently shooting almost 50 percent on 3-point shots and is doing so on 4.2 attempts per game. I’m concerned that the time constraints will make it difficult for her to quickly go through all the balls while staying in her rhythm, but I won’t be late for the Dolson train. You can book it: she will be the new 3-point champion of the WNBA.

It’s been a minute since our last Liberty update, huh? Well, like many people this summer, I (Chelsea) have fled to Europe, so we are going international with this update. Not going to lie, I unplugged for a few days, and was pleasantly surprised to open my phone to see the New York Liberty were sitting comfortably on top of the WNBA standings.

If you, like myself, are living your best Euro Girl Summer (being in Europe isn’t explicitly necessary), and haven’t been keeping the closest eye on the Liberty’s attempt to return to the WNBA Finals this season, let’s dive into it.

New York’s dominance is (mostly) a breeze…

With a record of 21-4 on the season, the Liberty have been playing quite well in all situations. Over the past few weeks, they’ve gone 6-1, while beating powerhouse teams like the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx along the way.

In their last game before the month-long Olympic break on Tuesday night, the Liberty won their third game of the season over the Sun. The Sun started their season HOT on a 10-game winning streak, but with the Liberty now winning the season series between the two teams, New York has the advantage in the battle for playoff positioning. That had to be a huge relief for this Liberty team.

While the team as a whole has been playing great, Sabrina Ionescu has been on another level heading into the Olympics. She will represent Team USA at the Games for the first time this month, and her place on the team has been rightfully earned as she’s made a huge jump since the 2021 Olympics—helped along by the fact that she’s been mostly healthy since then. She’s scored more than 20 points in the Liberty’s last five games, and shot 57.1 percent from 3 in the team’s victory over Chicago on July 11.

Yet, New York’s success has not come completely stress-free; there were a few losses that the team could have lived without. The first was more about pride than anything, when New York failed to win the Commissioner’s Cup Championship against Minnesota. While that game does not affect the regular season record of the team, it still wasn’t fun to lose both the trophy and the money that comes along with it.

The other bad loss was to the Indiana Fever on July 6, when the Liberty fell 83-78 to the young team. While there is certainly a lot of undeniable talent on Indiana’s roster, the experience and pedigree of New York had them as the heavy favorites to win. Still, losses happen, and the Liberty couldn’t dwell on the bad night too much before moving on.

Regardless, they still top the league as we head into the All-Star and Olympic break.

Injuries are hurting the Liberty’s depth

Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images

Depth and experience are two reasons why New York is able to win games, yet injuries unfortunately are bound to happen throughout the season. Breanna Stewart missed the last two game with a hamstring strain, but her injury does not seem to be a long-term issue. It is Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s knee injury that will impact the team more. She underwent a minor procedure this week and will be out for over a month rehabbing. But, the injury timeline suggests she will be back before the playoffs are set to begin.

With a member of the starting lineup being sidelined, head coach Sandy Brondello will have to continue to dig into her bench to replace Laney-Hamilton’s impact. That’s no easy task though, as Laney-Hamilton has a huge two-way impact within the Liberty’s system. She is a big defender on the perimeter and can help shut down the plethora of talented shooters in the league. She also adds an offensive pop with her strength on drives.

As we head into the Olympic break, it will also be a question of who returns healthy. The Liberty have Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu heading to represent Team USA, and the team will likely play deep into the Olympics. While many other teams’ players will get multiple weeks of rest, these Olympic athletes will get virtually none. It will be interesting to see if that helps or hinders them upon returning.

Where does New York stand?

Well, on top, basically. The Liberty are now first overall in the standings at 21-4, with the Sun in second at 18-6—a very nice gap if you’re a Liberty supporter.

The Olympic break has also officially started and WNBA action won’t resume for another month. Once we get back into it, there will only be one month left of the regular season before the playoffs are set to begin. A lot of teams will be in do-or-die mode for playoff placement and it’s already looking like a tough race. While New York has the advantage of being in first, in addition to being a few games ahead of the other top teams, they can’t slow down. Connecticut, Las Vegas, Seattle and Minnesota will all be fighting hard to get into those top spots and secure homecourt advantage for the playoffs.

The Liberty are in a good spot, but they’ll have to keep it up through injury, fatigue and a lack of rest if they want to keep their top spot ahead of the playoffs.

Caitlin Clark is incredible.

We’ve all seen her shooting, we’re now seeing her passing and another thing that makes her stand out, especially for her age, is her adaptability. During her first games in the WNBA, she seemed to be relying only on what worked back in Iowa, but now, she’s more keen to try something different. The thing that caught my attention in Wednesday’s game against the Dallas Wings was her driving to the basket. While she went just 2-for-9 from 3, she made eight 2-pointers, all of them coming from the interior; seven were, in fact, layups.

She wouldn’t have finished the game with 24 points if it wasn’t for her teammates spreading the floor and opening up the lane for her. She also owes them the grandest achievement of her WNBA career so far: 19 assists in a single game, a WNBA record. While the Fever ultimately lost the contest, it wasn’t like the team was stat padding just to make her look good. When the 19th dime came, both teams were tied at 93. The Wings closed out the game with a 8-0 run, as Clark committed a shooting foul and a turnover in the last two minutes.

Nobody’s going to blame her for the loss, just as nobody’s going to blame Aliyah Boston (career-high 28 points), NaLyssa Smith (13 points and 12 boards) or Kelsey Mitchell (13 points on 60 percent shooting). The Fever are steadily improving and are better than their 11-15 record might indicate. For the first time this season, they’ve entered top five of ESPN’s WNBA power rankings and if they keep this up, they will make the playoffs this season.

Clark and Boston are expected to contribute on a nightly basis for the Fever to stay in any game, but the key to winning seems to be Mitchell and her impact on offense. In the previous two games, wins against the Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx, she scored 28 and 21 points, respectively. Getting her enough touches and open shots will be crucial for the Fever in the near future. For now, they’re heading into the Olympic break. Kristy Wallace will be the only Fever player at the Olympics, suiting up for the Australian Opals. But first, expect Boston, Clark and Mitchell to give their all against Team USA at WNBA All-Star 2024.

With an abysmal two wins in their last 19 games, the Dallas Wings are having a disappointing 2024 season as we enter the All-Star and Olympic break.

As a team, injuries have certainly been a contributing factor, with key players like Satou Sabally out all season with a shoulder injury. Wings coach Latricia Trammell has stated that Sabally “probably won’t be back until after the Olympics,” so Dallas will be waiting with bated breath to see if she can return and help the franchise sneak into the playoffs or if it’s just going to be a disappointing season from start to finish for the Wings.

Not everything is grim in Dallas. Select players are having productive seasons and, given that we are at the halfway mark, let’s give out team awards. We undertook the same process with the Los Angeles Sparks, and now it’s time to see who the best players have been on the Wings:

MVP: Arike Ogunbowale

One thing that has remained consistent for the Dallas Wings in 2024 is Arike Ogunbowale’s production. She’s a one-woman offense able to hit tough basket after tough basket. She has the speed to attack the rim, the range to shoot from deep and the power to rise up and score over even the toughest defenders.

Averaging 22.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, Ogunbowale always has an opportunity, even on this struggling team, to take over and beat the best. The path toward a successful 2024 may be difficult for Dallas, but Ogunbowale will be a big part of a potential turnaround.

DPOY: Arike Ogunbowale

The Wings are one of the weaker defensive teams, but when I look at who makes the most impact on that side of the court, I return to the team’s MVP: Ogunbowale.

She’s a strong perimeter defender, and her aggression is often rewarded. Ogunbowale averages 2.7 steals per game, which leads the entire WNBA.

Sixth POY: Monique Billings

With so many injuries and many starting lineup changes, it’s hard to pin down who a bona fide bench player is. When looking up and down the roster, Monique Billings has consistently been coming off the bench and giving the Wings quality minutes.

The forward is averaging 9.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, giving the team some offensive help and cleaning up the glass.

Billings has started in nearly half of the games she’s played in, but has recently been slotted as a bench player, and that role feels right, given the roster construction. When Sabally returns, the lineup will undoubtedly change once again, but for now, Billings is the best the Wings bench has to offer.

MIP: Maddy Siegrist

Siegrist has only played in 13 games this year, but she’s certainly taken a leap in minutes played and production from 2023. She is currently averaging 14.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

A broken finger has halted her season, but with Siegrist undergoing surgery and a month’s break thanks to the Olympics, perhaps she can return and continue adding to her career year.

Peak Performers

This category highlights the leaders in key statistical categories. No opinion, just stats.

• Scoring: Arike Ogunbowale, 22.2 points per game
• Rebounding: Teaira McCowan, 7.4 rebounds per game
• Assists: Arike Ogunbowale, 5.1 assists per game

This season has been disappointing for the Wings so far, but it’s a little over halfway done, so while the road ahead is tough, there is still a path to travel.

If Sabally returns and the team uses this break to recharge, they can hit the ground running and still make a push toward playoff contention in 2024. It will come down to health and luck for that to happen. Still, they have some key stars on the roster, so until it’s mathematically impossible, it’s still possible, even if improbable.