Jonquel Jones Joins Liberty Olympians at WNBA All-Star Game
BROOKLYN-A New York Liberty civil war will be staged the desert later this month.
Jonquel Jones is among the WNBA contingent set to partake in the league's upcoming All-Star Game in Phoenix, one that will situate the orange and white's finest against the red, white, and blue. The annual exhibition will be held on July 20 at Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Mercury, and the WNBA batch was released on Tuesday.
That game between Team USA and the WNBA All-Stars will be the final game before the former ships off to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Jones' fellow Liberty stars Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart will play for the American side, which will tip off Olympic pool play on July 29 against Japan.
Jones, born in the Bahamas, will play in her fifth WNBA All-Star Game and previously repped the WNBA against Team USA in 2021, which saw the league's top women prevail 93-85 in Las Vegas. Many view her as the Liberty's top MVP candidate, as her healthy presence has played a major role in the team's franchise-best start that had them sitting atop the WNBA leaderboard entering Tuesday night play.
Through 19 games, Jones was averaging 16.2 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting a career-best 58.5 percent from the field. As if there was any doubt, Jones offered instant vindication for her nomination with a 21-point, 12-rebound outing in New York's 76-67 victory over the Minnesota Lynx, a triumph wrapped up mere minutes before the selections were announced on ESPN's "WNBA Countdown."
Joining Jones on the WNBA squad are rookies Caitlin Clark (Indiana) and Angel Reese (Chicago) as well as veterans DeWanna Bonner (Connecticut), Aliyah Boston (Indiana), Allisha Gray (Atlanta), Dearica Hamby (Los Angeles), Brionna Jones (Connecticut), Kayla McBride (Minnesota), Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana), Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas), and Nneka Ogwumike (Seattle).
Before the women's basketball world descends upon Phoenix, the Liberty (17-3) have five games left on their pre-Olympic slate, beginning with a Saturday afternoon visit to Indiana (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks