Diamond DeShields, Odyssey Sims among all star reserves

INDIANAPOLIS, IN JUNE 25 2019: Indiana Fever guard Erica Wheeler (17) drives past Minnesota Lynx guard Odyssey Sims (1) and goes in for the lay up during the game between the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever June 25, 2019, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN JUNE 25 2019: Indiana Fever guard Erica Wheeler (17) drives past Minnesota Lynx guard Odyssey Sims (1) and goes in for the lay up during the game between the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever June 25, 2019, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The overflow of talent in this league is enormous.

A huge number of WNBA players have elevated their games or continued to play at an elite level, and a dozen of them received the reward Monday with the official naming of the WNBA All Star reserves.

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Three of those players, Diamond DeShields of the Chicago Sky, Erica Wheeler of the Indiana Fever and Odyssey Sims of the Minnesota Lynx, will be all stars for the very first time. DeShields, in her second season, is a two-way player, while Sims has turned herself into both Minnesota’s leading scorer and best facilitator, with an assist percentage of 29.9. Wheeler is second in the WNBA in assist percentage, at 38.3, while shooting 40 percent from three and defending at a high level on the perimeter.

They will be joined among the reserves by Allie Quigley, also of the Chicago Sky, Kristi Toliver of the Washington Mystics and Courtney Vandersloot of the Sky. It is the third all star appearance for Toliver and Quigley, who is also the two-time three-point contest champion. This is Vandersloot’s second appearance.

In the frontcourt, reserves are: DeWanna Bonner of the Phoenix Mercury, Tina Charles of the New York Liberty, Candace Dupree of the Indiana Fever, Sylvia Fowles of the Minnesota Lynx, Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks and Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun.

They join the ten starters, including captains Elena Delle Donne and A’ja Wilson, who were named last week.

The 2019 WNBA All Star Game will be played in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 27, and broadcast on ABC at 3:30 PM EST.

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