Starters for the game were selected by fan voting and announced on July 8, 2014. Fans were able to select three frontcourt players and two guards. The leading vote-getter was Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx with 28,389 votes.[2]Shoni Schimmel won the MVP of the All-Star game and led the Eastern Conference to a 125-124 victory over the Western Conference.[3]
Coaches
Under All-Star Game rules, the coaches came from the previous year's conference champions, provided that they were still in the same positions. Cheryl Reeve, coach of the defending WNBA and West champion Lynx, coached the Western Conference for the second straight year. Because Fred Williams, who coached the Atlanta Dream to the Eastern Conference title in 2013, took the same position with the Tulsa Shock before the 2014 season, he was not eligible to serve as an All-Star head coach. Williams' successor in Atlanta, Michael Cooper, was selected as the East coach based on the Dream's conference-leading 11–4 record through games on June 29.[2]
Two initially chosen players were unable to play in the game. East starter Delle Donne was ruled out due to a flare-up of Lyme disease, while West reserve Augustus was sidelined by bursitis in her left knee. Delle Donne was replaced on the roster by Ivory Latta of the Washington Mystics, and Augustus by Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm.[5] Delle Donne's place in the East starting lineup was taken by Souza.[6]
Tamika Catchings was selected for the ninth time, tying her with Tina Thompson for the most selections. Catchings also took sole possession of the record for most All-Star Game appearances, with eight.
This was the first All-Star Game to go to overtime.
Brittney Griner's 17 points included the third dunk in All-Star Game history. This gave her four dunks in her two WNBA seasons; at game time, all other WNBA players in history had six.
The game was close throughout, but the East took a fourth-quarter lead, forcing the West to rally to take the game into overtime. The West took a 7-point lead with 1:59 to play, but the East scored the game's final 8 points, capped by a Catchings layup with 6.9 seconds left. Catchings then sealed the East win by knocking the ball away from Diggins. MVP honors went to Schimmel, a rookie who at the time was not starting for the Atlanta Dream and had been voted in as a starter mainly because of her huge following among her fellow Native Americans.[7]