The 2023 WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge will feature a new format, the league announced Tuesday. For the first time, All-Stars from the same team will be paired together in a skills challenge relay. Here’s what you need to know:
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
How it works
This year, the teams will race against the clock. The two teams with the lowest times will advance to the final round and race again to crown a victor.
Each player will have to complete a chest pass, dribble down the court around four pylons, make a floater in the lane, connect on a 3-pointer from the left corner and then lay the ball in at the opposite basket. The second teammate will then rebound the ball and begin the course.
Ionescu and NC State commit Zoe Brooks were the winners in 2022.
Several All-Star duos in 2023
The 2023 All-Star teams feature several sets of teammates, and the field could have been eight teams deep. One has to wonder what Seattle’s Ezi Magbegor and Jewell Loyd, Connecticut’s DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas, or Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston did to not earn an invite.
It’s also a shame that A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young won’t get a chance to compete against their Las Vegas opponents, as well as the rest of the field.
Additionally, even though Rhyne Howard of…
