NEW YORK, June 1 -- Michael Cooper of the Los Angeles Sparks and Anne Donovan of the Charlotte Sting will make their first appearances as coaches for the 2002 WNBA All-Star Game. Cooper will lead the Western Conference All-Stars, and Donovan will lead the Eastern Conference squad by virtue of their respective teams' finishes as conference champions during the 2001 season.

The 2002 WNBA All-Star Game will be hosted by the Mystics and the city of Washington D.C. at the MCI Center on Monday, July 15. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Cooper, the 2000 WNBA Coach of the Year, guided Los Angeles to its first WNBA title last season after finishing with a league-best 28-4 regular season record. Donovan led Charlotte to an 18-14 finish and a trip to the 2001 WNBA Finals in her first season as Sting head coach.

Donovan

Cooper

Cooper will be accompanied to the All-Star Game by his assistants, Glenn McDonald and Karleen Thompson, and Donovan will be accompanied by Charlotte assistants Trudi Lacey and Cheryl Reeve.

Tickets to the 2002 WNBA All-Star Game, starting at $10, are on sale beginning June 1 at the MCI Center box office. Starting on Monday, June 3, fans may also purchase tickets by calling 1-800-551-SEAT, at all Ticketmaster outlets, and online at WNBA.com and ticketmaster.com.

This will mark the WNBA's fourth All-Star Game. Previous results are as follows:

2001 WNBA All-Star Game
Date: July 16, 2001
Location: TD Waterhouse Centre
Result: West 80, East 72
MVP: Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks
Coaches: Richie Adubato, New York Liberty (East)
Van Chancellor, Houston Comets (West)

2000 WNBA All-Star Game
Date: July 17, 2000
Location: America West Arena
Result: West 73, East 61
MVP: Tina Thompson, Houston Comets
Coaches: Richie Adubato, New York Liberty (East)
Van Chancellor, Houston Comets (West)

Inaugural WNBA All-Star Game
Date: July 14, 1999
Location: Madison Square Garden
Result: West 79, East 61
MVP: Lisa Leslie, Los Angeles Sparks
Coaches: Linda Hill-MacDonald, Cleveland Rockers (East) Van Chancellor, Houston Comets (West)

The WNBA tipped off its sixth season on May 25 during Memorial Day weekend. The WNBA concluded the 2001 season by crowning a new champion for the first time in league history and recording the 10 millionth fan to attend a game since the league's inception. During the 2001 season, more than 2.5 million fans attended WNBA games, the most ever, and for the fifth straight season, WNBA regular season attendance averaged more than 9,000 fans. The league's combined local, national and international television coverage reached nearly 60 million fans. WNBA programming is broadcast to 178 countries in 24 different languages.