Verizon WNBA All-Star 2018 Post-Game Player Quotes – 7.28.18

Sue Bird, Team Delle Donne

How much fun was this All-Star Game for you?

Bird: It was a lot of fun. It changes it up, no conferences, you get to play with different players. The competitiveness of it was the same. We go out there and try to have fun, it gets competitive, then it’s more fun then it gets competitive again, so the ebbs and flows of that. Overall, I liked it.

How was the overall All-Star experience here in Minnesota?

Bird: Great! Minnesota did a great job. Obviously the city of 10,000 lakes, the city of Prince, they showcased that.

What is your mindset like for the rest of the regular-season?

Bird: Honestly I’m only thinking about tomorrow which is a day off.

Chelsea Gray, Team Parker

You come here as an opponent usually, what is it like to get cheered by the Minnesota crowd?

Gray: It was cool. It’s a different dynamic definitely. Usually come in here and it’s a different type of environment. So it was nice for a change to have them on our side.

How much fun has All-Star Weekend been? Yesterday, you gave your best Candace Parker impression.

Gray: It’s all fun. I love her to death. You know mockery is a form of flattery. So, that’s her.

What did you make on Minneapolis as a host site?

Gray: It was good. I knew their fans were going to come out and give a lot of support. It was loud out there. So, it was good.

Favorite moments from this year’s game?

Gray: No, not too many favorites. I wish I would have gotten a couple of more passes in, but you know it’s all good.

Skylar Diggins-Smith, Team Parker

How fun was it to play out there tonight?

Diggins-Smith: It’s always great. I don’t take it for granted. It’s just a blessing to be here and play this game. I’m just happy our team came out with the victory. Team Parker did a great job. Everybody did a great job. Everybody contributed. It was a great crowd tonight. It’s amazing for our game. It’s amazing to see. Minnesota was the most awesome city. I hope they feel like they got a great show, but it was all fun and games until the middle of the third, end of the fourth. It kind of picked up and got really competitive. It was a great all-star break. Now it’s back to the nitty and gritty of the last nine games.

On Liz Cambage’s point guard play:

Diggins-Smith: I think that was just a little fun. I think she’s great and all , but when we get back to Dallas, I’m going to takeover some of those responsibilities. She’s awesome. I loved that dunk there at the end. It was the exclamation point. She can play above the rim so easily. To be on the same team as her and share this experience, (inaudible).

A’ja Wilson, Team Delle Donne

How much fun was your first All-Star Game?

Wilson: It was a lot of fun. Of course we didn’t get the win, and I love to win, but all and all it was a lot of fun being out there with no pressure and playing the game that I love.

How was the overall All-Star experience here in Minnesota?

Wilson: It was great. They packed the house. We love our fans, especially here in Minnesota, this is where they hold all the championships and I would expect nothing less for them to come out and show out how they did. It’s a lot of fun. I’m glad I got the opportunity to come out here. I’m here when we play during the regular-season but I never get a chance to really get involved, so the opportunity to help the community with the Jr. NBA Clinic was a lot of fun.

What is your mindset like for the rest of the regular-season?

Wilson: It’s time to get back to work and do the best that we can to make a playoff push and work from there.

Jewell Loyd, Team Parker

How was your All-Star experience?

Loyd: So far, it’s been good. I don’t know anything else. This is my first one so I embraced it. I loved everything I got – all the stuff from Nike and the league. So, it’s pretty exciting to be here and play in front of a great crowd. Kind of put on a show.

What’s your mindset going back into the regular season?

Loyd: Pretty much what it was before. Focus on our bodies. Focus on our team and make sure we’re doing everything that we need to do as a whole to maintain what we have. Get better every game. That’s something that we’ve really been focusing on. No matter what happens, we’re going to get better. We’ll find something to get better at. That’s pretty where our minds are at.

How do you think the new format worked out?

Loyd: I think it’s pretty cool. It worked really with the NBA. It kind of a made it more suspenseful when it came down to picking the teams and stuff like that. Anything to engage the fans more. I think that’s really important. For us, we meet new people and find new friends. It’s all cool. We know at the end of the day we’re trying to play hard for the fans.