However, the Western Conference All-Star squad has made a number of changes since the rosters were �set.� Shortly after the teams were announced, Sacramento�s Kara Lawson was announced as the replacement for injured starter Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm.
The latest changes were announced as the teams were in the middle of their practice sessions on Saturday, just a day before the game. Sacramento forward Rebekkah Brunson�s leg injury is forcing her out of the game and she is being replaced by San Antonio�s Sophia Young, who was on her way to Washington, D.C. as the teams concluded their practice session.
The final adjustment came in the starting lineup and the decision on who would replace Bird lay in the hands of Western Conference coach Jenny Boucek of the Monarchs. She chose 11-year veteran and seven-time All-Star Tina Thompson of the Houston Comets. While replacing a point guard with a power forward could raise a few eyebrows, Boucek was clear in her reasoning for moving Thompson into the starting five.
�I believe in giving honor where honor is due and she definitely deserves that, so that�s why she�ll be starting,� Boucek said. �She has been not only a very consistent performer on the court, but she�s been on the top of the league as far as her impact on the players around her. She�s not very bold or outspoken about it, but within the league in inner circles you�ll hear many players speak to the impact that she has had on their lives.�
Boucek said she was impressed by Thompson�s play for the Comets this season, despite the team struggling out of the gate to a 0-10 start.
�I don�t think you have to look any further than this season to know her character as a woman,� Boucek said. �She could have easily bowed out on this season, easily rested or not play hard. She has competed for 40 minutes every game of this season when they were not doing too hot and that impacts people for life. To see her modeling what a professional is and that character, it impacts not only the people on her team, it impacts all of us in the league to see her professionalism and her character.�
Thompson, who has not played in the All-Star Game since 2002 due to injuries, was honored to take to the spot in the starting lineup and appreciated Boucek�s comments.
�I think it�s great. I don�t truly believe there�s a big difference between a starter and a reserve, but the fact that I get an opportunity to start the game says a lot,� Thompson said. �Coach Boucek talked to me about why she chose to put me in that position. I think the reasoning why she decided to do that is probably a lot more important than actually starting in the game itself.
�She talked about what I brought to the game and how she appreciated how I�ve been kind of in the fire this year. Right now we�re five and whatever, I don�t even know, or I don�t want to know probably. And just that I�ve maintained the same personality that I had when we were winning. She said that�s very hard and it shows a lot about my character and who I am as a person and a player. Those are very kind words, especially coming from someone that I�m competing with on a regular basis and it was sincere.�
Thompson�s All-Star teammates completely agreed with having the WNBA legend get the starting nod.
�There couldn�t have been a better replacement. Not one person could have filled the shoes that Tina fills,� said Phoenix�s Diana Taurasi. �Tina, I don�t want to say she�s our mentor, but she has done a lot for me in the last two or three years playing with her in USA Basketball and over in Russia. I�ve just learned so much from her that it will be nice to be on the court as an All-Star starter with her.�
Thompson is the only player in the All-Star Game who was on a WNBA roster in the league's inaugural season in 1997.
Getting Back on the Winning Track
The All-Star Game is a mix of putting on a show for the fans and an actual basketball game. While the stakes are low, the players are competitive by nature and still want to win the game. Taurasi remembers that the Eastern Conference won its first All-Star Game last year, ending the Western Conference�s dominance.
�I have a good time at All-Star games. If you can�t have fun right now then you�re going to have a hard time having fun anywhere,� she said. �There�s not too much at stake, but the West has something to prove so we�re excited. We�re trying to get the crown back. The East played really well last year, they were motivated, they had lost like 24 years in a row or something like that, so for them it was a big achievement.�
Taurasi is also looking to improve on her dunk attempt in last year�s All-Star Game.
�I will be dunking this year. I'm going to dunk in the first half because my legs are fresher in the first half, that�s the plan.�
Breaking Down the All-Star Game Matchup
Each All-Star practice consisted of about 10 minutes of the teams going over a few offensive sets and plays. However, like most All-Star games it�s likely that few, if any, plays will be run during the actual game.
�You probably won�t see any plays in the All-Star Game, but we want to a few things they can fall back on just in case,� Boucek said to the crowd during practice.
While the X�s and O�s don�t play much of a role at All-Star, matchups between the two teams do and the East and West squads will look to exploit mismatches during the game.
�We�re kind of small right now,� said Lawson. �They have a lot more big post players than we do, but All-Star games are usually up-and-down, run-and-gun. We have three Phoenix players that are used to that run-and-gun system, so I think we�ve got a good shot if we can make it an up-and-down game.�
Boucek knows she�ll have to rely on the shooters she has on her squad and push the tempo if the West wants to get back to its winning ways.
�We have a lot of shooters, we�ve got more of that and they obviously have a lot of size,� she said. �We�ll look to do what everybody wants to see in the All-Star Game, which is move the ball up the court with good spacing and try to create shots for one another quickly.�
Hammon Joins Elite Company
When San Antonio Silver Stars guard Becky Hammon was voted in as an All-Star starter by the fans, she became only the second player ever to start in the All-Star Game for both conferences, joining WNBA legend Dawn Staley. Hammon was an Eastern Conference All-Star starter twice while a member of the New York Liberty and is starting for the Western Conference squad in her first year in San Antonio.
�Obviously it�s a big honor,� said Hammon. �You�re in the same sentence as Dawn Staley, I mean that�s pretty good company. It�s an honor to be in the same breath as her. It�s great because the fans put me here. The fans have been so loyal; we have some of the greatest in the world in all of sports. I�m here for them because they wanted to see me.�
Injury Not Keeping Brunson Down
Brunson was a last minute scratch for the All-Star Game due to a left calf injury suffered during Sacramento's Thursday night game against the Connecticut Sun.
�The leg is pretty sore; we�re just going to see how it goes for the remainder of the season,� she said. �I�m not playing tomorrow, but I�m still enjoying the festivities, I�m still excited to watch the game tomorrow.�
The Washington, D.C. native said not being able to play in the game does not lessen the highlight of being named to the All-Star team.
�It�s definitely still an honor to be named an All-Star,� she said. �The game is a lot of fun and it�s a great experience, but just becoming an All-Star is where the joy comes from.�
New Teammates (For A While)
A highlight for many All-Stars is getting a chance to play with players from other teams, even if it is just for the weekend.
�I�m just looking forward to playing with everyone on our team. I never got to be on the court with Becky Hammon, so I�m pretty excited about that,� said Taurasi. "I just like the way she plays, she�s so savvy out there."
Hammon felt the same way about Taurasi, listing her along with Thompson and Seattle�s Lauren Jackson as the players she�s looking forward to playing with most.
�It�s nice to not have to play against them for once,� said the longtime Eastern Conference player. �Lauren Jackson is the best player in the world in my opinion, so I�m looking forward to being able to pass to her because she catches everything.�
Thompson and Jackson were also the pick for Lawson.
�If I can get in a pick-and-roll with one or both of them in the game, I�m good,� said the first-time All-Star. �I don�t even need to shoot; I just want to see what it�s like to run off a pick-and-roll with them. They are two of the dream people to play in a pick-and-roll with because they can roll, they can pop and they can shoot it.
�Lauren is playing unbelievable right now. I could come off the bench and run a pick-and-roll with both of them and then coach could sit me the rest of the game.�
 Seven-time All-Star Tina Thompson
Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images
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