Player participation in the WNBA All-Star vote for starters was incomplete.
Some Los Angeles Sparks players did not receive ballots before the results were tallied and released Thursday, a team spokesperson said in a statement shared with The Athletic. “Players were sent ballots via email,” the statement said. “Some players indicated that they didn’t receive the email or weren’t aware of it until after the voting period had closed. That’s something we take responsibility for as an organization, and we’ll have a more robust process going forward.”
Teams are responsible for distributing ballots and can choose how to deliver them to players, who can vote for teammates as starters.
ESPN first reported the news and also reported that about only 85 players among the league’s minimum 180 players cast ballots for All-Star Game starters, which are decided by weighted voting categories, including 25 percent from player votes. Fan selections make up 50 percent of the vote for All-Star starters. Members of a media voting panel account for the other 25 percent.
When the WNBA announced All-Star starters and voting tallies, it revealed Sparks guard Kelsey Plum finished 12th in the player rank for guards, fifth in media rank and sixth in fan rank. Plum, who has been limited to 12 games this season due to injury, is the league’s second-leading scorer, averaging 23.9 points per game. Nneka Ogwumike, a WNBA champion with the Sparks, was seventh in player rank, eighth in fan rank and 10th in media rank.
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers was first in fan and player rank. She was among the WNBA’s All-Star backcourt starters along with Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles and Indiana Fever guards Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell. The frontcourt starters are Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard, Fever center Aliyah Boston, Lynx forward Natasha Howard and Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams.
Clark was 11th in players voting but third and second in media and fan rank, respectively. Mystics guard Sonia Citron was 10th in fan and media rank but fourth in player rank.
The All-Star Game will be played July 25 at the United Center in Chicago. WNBA coaches still have to vote on All-Star reserves. Each coach will vote for three guards, five frontcourt players and four players at either position regardless of conference. They are not permitted to vote for players on their own teams.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Los Angeles Sparks, WNBA
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