UNCASVILLE, Conn. — After Elena Delle Donne was selected No. 2 in the 2013 W.N.B.A. draft, people wondered if she would fulfill the lofty expectations that accompanied such a distinction and become a transcendent player for a league continually fighting for recognition in American sports.
Delle Donne was overpowering at the college level at Delaware, which is not a powerhouse program like Connecticut, where she briefly went before choosing to play closer to her home.
With the league’s best players gathered at Mohegan Sun Arena for Saturday’s W.N.B.A. All-Star Game, Delle Donne’s colleagues, including Brittney Griner — the player selected No.