Atkins was the No. 14 pick in the Draft
Washington Mystics guard Ariel Atkins selected No. 14 overall in the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game Draft. She will play on Team Wilson, where Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson and Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird will be captains. The other team is Team Stewart where Storm forward Breanna Stewart and Minnesota Lynx center Sylvia Fowles are captains.
The first player selected in the draft was Chicago Sky forward Candace Parker to Team Stewart. Team Wilson’s first pick, at No. 2 overall was Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young.
The last player selected was Sky forward Emma Meesseman at No. 17 to Team Stewart, which made New York Liberty forward Natasha Howard the last pick by default, who will be on Team Wilson. Meesseman’s (and Kahleah Copper’s) placement on Team Stewart denies Mystics fans the opportunity to see a group of former and current Mystics together.
Here are the rosters:
Team Wilson
- A’ja Wilson, Aces, captain, starter
- Sue Bird, Storm, captain, starter
- Candace Parker, Sky, starter, No. 1 pick
- Kelsey Plum, Aces, starter, No. 3
- Nneka Ogwumike, Sparks, starter, No. 5
- Rhyne Howard, Dream, No. 8
- Dearica Hamby, Aces, No. 10
- Courtney Vandersloot, Sky, no. 12
- ARIEL ATKINS, MYSTICS, NO. 14
- Brionna Jones, Sun, No. 16
- Natasha Howard, Liberty, No. 18
Team Stewart
- Breanna Stewart, Storm, captain, starter
- Sylvia Fowles, Lynx, captain, starter
- Jackie Young, Aces, starter, No. 2 pick
- Jonquel Jones, Sun, starter, No. 4
- Sabrina Ionescu, Liberty, starter, No. 6
- Jewell Loyd, Storm, No. 7
- Kahleah Copper, Sky, No. 9
- Skylar Diggins-Smith, Mercury, No. 11
- Alyssa Thomas, Sun, No. 13
- Arike Ogunbowale, Wings, No. 15
- Emma Meesseman, Sky, No. 17
The All-Star Game is on July 10 in Chicago. GO ARIEL AND TEAM WILSON!!!