Aces’ Hamby WNBA’s rep for NBA Celebrity All-Star game
The honors keep rolling in for Las Vegas Aces forward Dearica Hamby.
Just days after she was named to her first USA Basketball roster, Hamby was announced as a participant at the 2022 Celebrity All-Star Game Wednesday, part of the NBA’s All-Star weekend.
She will be the WNBA’s only representative. She will be part of a team coached by former NBA champion Bill Walton, going against a squad led by longtime Atlanta Hawks forward Dominique Wilkins.
By playing in the game, Hamby follows in the footsteps of star forward A’ja Wilson, who played in the game’s 2020 and 2019 iterations, as well as new Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon, who appeared in the game three times as a player and once as an assistant coach for comedian Kevin Hart.
The WNBA has always been well represented in the Celebrity All-Star Game. Since its inception in 2003, there has always been at least one current player on a roster. League legends such as Tamika Catchings, Lisa Leslie and Swin Cash have all suited up to play in the exhibition.
Part of the All-Star game festivities, the game is played on Friday night, two days before the NBA All-Star game. The event wasn’t held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other participants this year include rappers Machine Gun Kelly and Jack Harlow, comedian Tiffany Haddish, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, the Bachelor’s Matt James and Cleveland mayor Justin Bibb, among others.
The exhibition is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be played at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland.
Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.