PHOENIX MERCURY
Mercury’s Skylar Diggins-Smith a reserve for 2022 WNBA All-Star Game
Phoenix Mercury guard Skylar Diggins-Smith was named as a reserve for the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game, the league announced Tuesday.
This marks Diggins-Smith’s sixth All-Star Game nod of her career.
The guard is coming off a 17-point effort in an 83-71 win over the Indiana Fever on Monday night.
This season, Diggins-Smith is averaging 18.8 points on 44.9% shooting (32.1% from long range) to go along with 5.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals over 34.1 minutes per game. She is currently on pace to become the first player in WNBA history to average at least 17 points and four assists in a season seven times. She is the fifth-leading scorer in the WNBA.
Diggins-Smith is the latest Mercury player to earn an All-Star nod after center Brittney Griner was named an honorary All-Star Game starter amid her detainment in Russia.
“During each season of Brittney’s career in which there has been an All-Star Game, she has been selected as an All-Star,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a release last Wednesday. “It is not difficult to imagine that if BG were here with us this season, she would once again be selected and would, no doubt, show off her incredible talents. So, it is only fitting that she be named as an honorary starter today and we continue to work on her safe return to the U.S.”
Griner has been detained in Russia since Feb. 17 after authorities at an airport outside of Moscow said she had vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her bag.
The State Department in May designated Griner as wrongfully detained, moving her case under the supervision of its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, who is effectively the government’s chief hostage negotiator.
This past Monday, Griner’s detention was extended six months. She was also ordered Friday to remain in custody for the duration of her criminal trial. Griner could face 10 years in prison if convicted on charges of large-scale transportation of drugs.
The WNBA All-Star Game is set for Sunday, July 10th, at 10 a.m. Arizona time in Chicago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
