Sylvia Fowles, Sue Bird, A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart named captains for WNBA All-Star game on July 10

The WNBA announced Wednesday that Minnesota center Sylvia Fowles and Seattle guard Sue Bird, who both will retire at the end of this season, will be co-captains along with Las Vegas forward A'ja Wilson and Seattle forward Breanna Stewart for the league's All-Star game on July 10 (ABC, 1 p.m. ET) in Chicago.

The league also said Phoenix center Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February, will be an honorary All-Star starter. Griner previously has been a All-Star seven times.

This will be the 13th All-Star Game for Bird, and the eighth for Fowles. Wilson and Stewart, by virtue of finishing with the most fan votes, will be the official team co-captains and pick their squads during ESPN's WNBA All-Star Team Selection Special on July 2 (3 p.m. ET). They will choose first from the remaining pool of eight starters and then from the pool of 12 reserves.

Along with the aforementioned four, the other starters are Connecticut forward Jonquel Jones, Los Angeles forward Nneka Ogwumike, Chicago forward-center Candace Parker and New York's Sabrina Ionescu and Las Vegas teammates Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young, all guards. This is the first All-Star selection for former No. 1 picks Ionescu (2020), Young (2019) and Plum (2017).

Fowles and Bird will also be co-captains; Bird will be paired with Wilson and Fowles with Stewart.

«For icons like Sylvia and Sue to be voted into the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game as starters in their 15th and 19th seasons, respectively, is extraordinary,» WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. «And when you see the starting lineups dotted with first-time All-Stars like Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young, it just seems right that Sylvia and Sue — who have said this will be their final