The Game at Radio City is an exhibition women's basketball game played on August 5, 2004, at Radio City Music Hall in New York, New York. The game was played in place of the WNBA All-Star Game during the 2004 season.
In order to allow players to participate in the 2004 Summer Olympics, the WNBA took a month-long break. However, prior to the teams heading to Athens, the WNBA hosted an exhibition game between the U.S. Olympic Team and a team of WNBA stars. Every player on the Olympic team was also an WNBA player. The WNBA squad consisted of American players, with the exception of Mwadi Mabika who was from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Her country's women's basketball team did not qualify for the Olympics that year.)
Team USA defeated the WNBA stars, 74–58.
The Game
Rosters
+USA Olympic Team Pos. Player Team Starters PG Dawn Staley Charlotte Sting SG Shannon Johnson San Antonio Silver Stars SF Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever PF Tina Thompson Houston Comets C Lisa Leslie Los Angeles Sparks Reserves PG Sue Bird Seattle Storm SG Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury SF Swin Cash Detroit Shock SF Delisha Milton-Jones 1 Los Angeles Sparks SF Katie Smith 3 Minnesota Lynx SF Sheryl Swoopes 3 Houston Comets PF Ruth Riley 2 Detroit Shock C Yolanda Griffith Sacramento Monarchs
+WNBA Team Pos. Player Team Starters PG Nikki Teasley Los Angeles Sparks SG Anna DeForge Phoenix Mercury SF Nykesha Sales Connecticut Sun PF Cheryl Ford Detroit Shock C Taj McWilliams-Franklin Connecticut Sun Reserves PG Becky Hammon New York Liberty PG Lindsay Whalen Connecticut Sun SG Deanna Nolan Detroit Shock SF Allison Feaster Charlotte Sting SF Mwadi Mabika Los Angeles Sparks PF Natalie Williams Indiana Fever
1 Injured 2 Injury replacement 3 Injured at time of game, but no replacement selected
Coaches The coach for the USA Olympic Team was Houston Comets coach Van Chancellor. The coach for the WNBA Team was Detroit Shock coach Bill Laimbeer.
References