PHOENIX — The 2024 WNBA All-Star Game is headed to Phoenix, setting up as a home game for Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi and a sendoff to the U.S. Olympic women's basketball team.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced Saturday that the event would be hosted by the Phoenix Mercury.
“Since I’ve been in the league, they’ve done so much,” Engelbert said. “They are so great to work with under the new ownership with Mat Ishbia.”
Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia says to bring this event to the Valley is a huge get.
"Everyone helped out to put this together," Ishbia told ABC15. "To get this so quickly, to get next year's game was just a huge win for our city, for our organization, and I think for our fans and community."
Ishbia credited Phoenix city officials for their efforts to make the event a reality, saying the league realizes people want to come to the Valley because it's a great place and a hub for basketball.
“It’s a real big deal for our franchise, elevating us and continuing to make it a franchise that has events like this,” Ishbia said in a phone interview with Associated Press. “It's big for our community and we're looking to put on a great show for our fans, community and the whole country, and continue to elevate the women's game.”
The game is expected to be similar to the 2021 version that featured the U.S. Olympic team playing against players not selected for that team. The All-Star squad beat the U.S. team that year 93-83.
The exhibition contest would give the Olympians a marquee event on home soil before heading to Paris.
“It’s challenging because it’s an Olympic year, but I was adamant that we needed to have an All-Star Game because the players need to say they are an All-Star in that Olympic year,” Engelbert said.
Taurasi has said she hopes to play in Paris and lead the U.S. to an eighth consecutive gold medal and earn her sixth. Taurasi is signed with the Mercury through next season, which would be her 20th in the league.
Playing in Phoenix, which also hosted the All-Star Game in 2000 and 2014, would give Griner a chance to play in front of the Mercury fans as well. Griner, who is a nine-time All-Star, said she would love to play in the Paris Olympics if asked.
“I mean, it's the highest you can get playing with the USA,” said Griner, who helped the U.S. win gold medals at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
Engelbert said that Taurasi's potential finale and Griner's return weren't big reasons in awarding the game to Phoenix.
“Those weren’t factors, but those are nice to have as part of the storyline next year with it being an Olympic year,” she said.
The league started taking bids from franchises to host late last year and knew by December that there were three major contenders. Engelbert said the league hopes to announce the site of the 2025 All-Star Game a year ahead again.
“We'll be talking to different cities, but we have a good idea because we already had seen the interest from this year's bids,” she said. “We have a great footprint (in 2025) because there's no FIBA World Cup and no Olympics.”
