Phoenix center to make ninth WNBA All-Star appearance and sixth start.
PHOENIX — Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner has been selected as a starter for the 2023 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas, the league announced today.
This will be Griner’s ninth All-Star selection in 11 years played in the league (no All-Star Games were played in 2016 and 2020 due to the Olympics and Covid), including last season when she was named an honorary All-Star by Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. Griner’s nine selections are the most of any 2023 WNBA All-Star starter.
Returning to the court after missing the 2022 season, Griner is averaging 19.1 points per game on a career-high 61.8% shooting, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 1.7 assists and a career-high 0.9 steals. Griner leads the league in blocks per game, is second in field goal percentage and eighth in points per game.
Griner has led the Mercury in scoring in six of her nine games played this year, including a season-high 29 points (9-of-13 from the field and 11-of-12 from the line) in Phoenix’s win at Indiana on June 11.
Griner, who moved past Sylvia Fowles for the most blocks in WNBA history early in the season, now has 738 career regular season blocks. She has recorded four games with 3 or more blocks in 2023, giving her 130 such games for her career, trailing only Margo Dydek (156) and Lisa Leslie (134).
The All-Star Game reserves will be announced on July 1. Starters are voted on by fans, players and media members with the league’s coaches selecting the All-Star reserves.
The 2023 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game takes place on Saturday, July 15, at 5:30 p.m. PT at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas and will be broadcast nationally on ABC. On Friday, July 14, the WNBA STARRY® 3-Point Contest and Kia WNBA Skills Challenge will air at 1 p.m. PT on ESPN.
The Mercury returns to action at Footprint Center on Tuesday, June 27 at 7 p.m. as they begin a three-game homestand, starting with a matchup against the Dallas Wings.