The All-Star Weekend is here! Just a few hours more and we will stumble upon one of the most exciting parts of the WNBA season. Like always, this year’s event will also showcase the best WNBA stars in their favorite formats. While the All-Star game on Saturday and the 3-point shooting challenge are always exciting, this year’s skills challenge will also be something you may want to look forward to. Why? Because the 3x Olympian Brittney Griner will join others before she takes off for Paris. These will be Sophie Cunningham, Marina Mabrey, Allisha Gray, and Erica Wheeler.

Without much ado, let’s dive deep into the Skills Challenge and how it will prove that these stars are truly someone you should keep an eye out for.

Prize money and operations of the Skills Challenge

This year’s Kia Skills Challenge will be everything you need to boost your adrenaline. However, boasting rights will not be the only reason why your beloved WNBA stars would want to go head-to-head against time itself! Nneka Ogwumike, President of the WNBPA and player for the Seattle Storm, tweeted some huge news for the competitors. Aflac will be supplementing the league’s pay with an additional $55,000 for the winners.

Brittney Griner and the other four participants will have to go through an obstacle course. Of course, they will be showcasing their ball-handling and shooting skills at the same time. The basketball skills will include dribbling and passes like bounce, chest, and outlet. They will also put their shooting skills on display as they hit elbow jumpers and shoot threes from the corner and the top of the arc.

The challenge will get only more intense as the competitors try to beat each other’s time. Two of the fastest participants will move to the Final round. Now, let us have a look at the abilities of the participating WNBA stars.

Brittney Griner and who? Meet your Skill Challenge participants

The star-studded Skills Challenge will also become a height competition as the tall center Brittney Griner establishes her skills on the floor. Griner, 6-ft-9, would be entering the event with 10 WNBA All-Star honors. Currently, she is averaging 18.3 points and 6.4 rebounds. The 11-year veteran has been 2x Peak Performer and 2x scoring leader in the league which qualifies her for the job perfectly. Joining Brittney Griner will be her teammate from the Mercury Sophie Cunningham. She is averaging 7.9 points so far and was the perfect substitute in the starters when Griner was out due to injury.

The former Chicago Sky guard Marina Mabrey who recently found a new home with the Connecticut Sun will be the other participant. In fact, the talented hooper will also be showcasing her abilities in the 3-point shooting contest. However, the best potential display of this playmaker will surely be in the Skills Challenge only. In her time with the Sky, she averaged 14 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. Now, she will wear the Orange jersey of the Sun which is the second playoff seed right now. A trade-up? Certainly so! And so should be her skills tonight.

Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray is another WNBA star who will enter the floor for the Skills Challenge. Although the Dream is not yet in the playoff run, Gray is turning the tides for the team. She is averaging 15.5 points right now.

Another All-Star who even collected the 2019 All-Star MVP honor and Caitlin Clark’s teammate Erica Wheeler will show her skills tonight. While she is not getting much floor time this season, she is putting in 4.2 points in 15.5 minutes on average. Her field goal percentage in 26 games so far is just over 40%. Still, she has been the veteran power in her team and has helped with setting the pace. A perfect combination for the skills challenge.

How to watch Brittney Griner and more take on the Skills Challenge?

The wait is almost over, and the arena is completely sold out. Now, if you wish to catch all the fun that the WNBA stars will be having during the All-Star weekend, you can grab them on ESPN. The event will go down in Phoenix Mercury’s Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. You can watch the live streaming on ESPN tonight Friday, July 19, 2024, at 9 pm ET.

The friendly faces of Holly Rowe, Rebecca Lobo, and Ryan Ruocco will be welcoming you from the ESPN squad for the night. After the Kia Skills Challenge, the All-Star event will continue with its 3-point shooting contest tonight. Surprisingly, we will not have two of the top deep shooters Caitlin Clark and Sabrina Ionescu in the challenge.

Still, the 2-day event is surely going to be a thrill. Not to mention, a huge chance for the rookies to meet the rest of the WNBA in a friendly environment. Moreover, the break that follows will also be quite fruitful as the players will get the much-deserved rest.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.