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The 2024 WNBA All-Star Game tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 20 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ (ABC), when the 12 WNBA All-Stars will meet the 12 members of Team USA.

TEAM WNBA: DeWanna Bonner (Connecticut Sun), Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever), Caitlin Clark (Indiana Fever), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Dearica Hamby (Los Angeles Sparks), Brionna Jones (Connecticut Sun), Jonquel Jones (New York Liberty), Kayla McBride (Minnesota Lynx), Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever), Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings), Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle Storm), Angel Reese (Chicago Sky)

TEAM USA: Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury), Chelsea Gray (Las Vegas Aces), Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury), Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty), Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm), Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces), Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty), Dianna Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury), Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun), A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces), Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces)

In 2021, the first time a team of WNBA All-Stars faced off against the USA Basketball Women’s National Team, the All-Stars refused simply to salute the red, white and blue, as MVP Arike Ogunbowale scored a game-high 26 points to lead the All-Stars to a 93-85 victory. Jonquel Jones added a double-double of 18 points and 14 points for the All-Stars.

Ogunbowale and Jones again are suiting up for the All-Stars against the American Olympians, and they likely are intent upon achieving a similar result. Soon after the members of Team USA were revealed, Ogunbowale shared that she decided to withdraw from consideration for the Olympic team, an expression of her frustration with the what she saw as a political, rather than meritocratic, selection process. Ever a competitor with a penchant for playing her best when the lights are brightest, Ogunbowale surely will be motivated to remind all that—gold medal or not—she is among the game’s elite. Nneka Ogwumike, herself an Olympic snub for the 2020 Games, likely sympathizes with Ogunbowale. Caitlin Clark’s legions of fans, most of whom believed the rookie belongs on Team USA, likewise hope she also shows the national team what they’re missing.

Fellow rookie standout Angel Reese, 3×3 Olympian Dearica Hamby and DeWanna Bonner consistently play with the kind of fire that suggests they’ll be ready to take it to Team USA. Add in the steady presences of Aliyah Boston and Brionna Jones, the sharpshooting of Kayla McBride and Kelsey Mitchell and the grit of Allisha Gray. The All-Stars have the attitudes and abilities to again defeat the Olympians.

Will Team USA aim to ensure that their quest for an eighth-straight gold medal is preceded by an All-Star Game triumph, playing with the requisite intensity and intentionality? Or, will preserving their energies for the upcoming Olympics be the priority, resulting in the team operating in second gear for much of the game? Let’s hope it’s the former, with the Olympic squad seeing the game against the All-Stars as an ideal tune up for Paris.

If that’s the case, the game could be close down the stretch of the fourth quarter, meaning who finishes for each squad—rather than who starts—will matter the most. For Team USA, three players stand out as almost guaranteed closers: A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and Chelsea Gray. Wilson and Stewart are the world’s best players, while Gray’s control in the clutch is unparalleled. In the backcourt with Gray, Team USA head coach Cheryl Reeve must choose between Jewell Loyd, Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum, Kahleah Copper and Dianna Taurasi. Yeesh. The frontcourt decision might be even more difficult. Does Reeve go even bigger with the rim protection of the 6-foot-9 Brittney Griner? Would she favor the versatility of Napheesa Collier or Jackie Young? Or, would she simply opt for the all-round force of Alyssa Thomas?

Women’s basketball legend Cheryl Miller will be making the difficult decisions as head coach of Team WNBA. Miller will have to rediscover the touch and tactics that resulted in her leading the Phoenix Mercury to 70 wins across 122 games (1997-2000) as the franchise’s first head coach.

Cheryl vs. Cheryl. All-Stars vs. Olympians. Black, orange and pink vs. red, white and blue. As long as everyone escapes injury-free, we’re all winners.

Game information

Team WNBA vs. Team USA

When: Saturday, July 20 at 8:30 p.m. ET

Where: Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ

How to watch: ABC