Griner, Cunningham among WNBA’s picks for Friday’s competitions. Clark, Ionescu won’t participate

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — As festivities for the WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix kick off this week, two Mercury players will take part in special competitions, while some big names will sit out this round.

Phoenix’s Brittney Griner and New York’s Jonquel Jones are among the biggest names that will participate in the WNBA’s special competitions on Friday during the league’s All-Star weekend.

But the league’s Skills Challenge and 3-point Contest won’t include a handful of the league’s most popular players, including Indiana’s Caitlin Clark, Chicago’s Angel Reese and New York’s Sabrina Ionescu.

The Skills Challenge will include Griner, Mercury teammate Sophie Cunningham, Atlanta’s Allisha Gray, Connecticut’s Marina Mabrey and Indiana’s Erica Wheeler. The 3-point Contest includes Jones, Gray, Mabrey, Washington’s Stefanie Dolson and Minnesota’s Kayla McBride.

The WNBA also announced that Phoenix Mercury first coach and general manager Cheryl Miller will coach the WNBA All-Stars on Saturday. The national team will be led by Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve.

Players participating in the skills challenge:

Player	Team	Position
Sophie Cunningham	Phoenix Mercury	Guard
Brittney Griner	Phoenix Mercury	Center
Allisha Gray	Atlanta Dream	Guard
Marina Mabrey	Connecticut Sun	Guard
Erica Wheeler	Indiana Fever	Guard

Players participating in the 3-point contest:

Player	Team	Position
Stefanie Dolson	Washington Mystics	Center
Allisha Gray	Atlanta Dream	Guard
Jonquel Jones	New York Liberty	Center
Marina Mabrey	Connecticut Sun	Guard
Kayla McBride	Minnesota Lynx	Guard

Griner is the only member of the U.S. Olympic Team who will participate in either competition.

The 20th All-Star Game in the league’s history will take place July 20 at Footprint Center. Rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will team up on the WNBA All-Star Team to play against the U.S. Olympic team, which features three Phoenix Mercury players.

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