Liberty Teammates, Griner Headline Stewart's WNBA All-Star Team

Breanna Stewart united teammates old and new as she picked her team for the WNBA All-Star Game against a group chosen by Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson.

The WNBA All-Star Draft was literally fantasy basketball for the New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart. 

Stewart's team at the 2023 exhibition was unveiled on Saturday, as she partook in a draft format against Las Vegas Aces icon A'ja Wilson for the second consecutive season. With her first choice among a pool of eight starters, Stewart chose Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner, her close friend and Team USA companion. 

When it came time to pick reserves, Stewart was able to acquire New York teammates Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot. Stewart was also able to bring in former co-workers Jewell Loyd and Ezi Magbegor, members of her original WNBA employers, the Seattle Storm. Seattle faced off against the Liberty on Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center in the hosts' final Brooklyn contest before the break. 

The WNBA All-Star Game will be held next Saturday at Wilson's dwelling of Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC). Wilson was able to acquire each of her Las Vegas teammates: Chelsa Gray was her top pick to open the affair while Jackie Young was her second choice at third overall. Wilson then mirrored Stewart's strategy by picking a teammate with her first pick, as Kelsey Plum went between Vandersloot and Ionescu.

Stewart was one of the most vocal supporters of the league-wide campaign to bring Griner home during her incarceration in Russia last year. Last year's All-Star Game in Chicago served as a prominent display of support for Griner, with players donning her name and number on their jerseys during the second half of action, which saw Wilson's team pull away to the tune of a 134-112 victory over Stewart's group. Ionescu and Vandersloot each played for Wilson's team: the new NBA2K24 cover model had 19 points while Vandersloot led all participants with eight assists.

Joining Stewart, Griner. and Loyd in the starting five are Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles) and Satou Sabally (Dallas) while Ionesecu, Vandersloot, and Magbegor's fellow reinforcements include Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana), Kahleah Copper (Chicago), and Napheesa Collier, who is set to tip off a domestic 3-on-3 league with Stewart in Miami this winter.

The Liberty's final contest before the All-Star break lands on Wednesday when they take on Mitchell and the Indiana Fever in a matinee (12 p.m. ET, YES).

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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