WNBA All-Star Ballots: SI’s Experts Cast Their Votes

A WNBA season that has already had more than its share of headlines and huge performances has reached the end of All-Star media voting. Below, Sports Illustrated’s two voters on the panel reveal their ballots.

First, a reminder of how the system works. The 10 All-Star starters are selected by a weighted vote from the fans (50%), media (25%), and current players (25%). The 12 reserves will then be chosen by current head coaches. (Coaches may not vote for any player on their own team.) The rosters will be set in a draft on July 8: Team captains will be the two players who received the most fan votes. The game will be held July 19 in Indianapolis.

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Backcourt: Four players

Emma Baccellieri: Caitlin Clark, Skylar Diggins, Allisha Gray, Sabrina Ionescu

All four of these felt like clear selections for me with their performances so far. But I could have easily chosen a fifth—Kelsey Mitchell, Brittney Sykes, Paige Bueckers and Kelsey Plum have all been making compelling cases to one degree or another. So here’s one voting change I would make as the game becomes increasingly positionless: Rather than a required ballot split of four guards and six frontcourt players, how about four guards, four in the frontcourt and two swing options for any position? That would still create playable rosters while allowing for a little more flexibility to reward strong performances.

Clare Brennan: Caitlin Clark, Skylar Diggins, Allisha Gray, Sabrina Ionescu

Gray is a two-time All-Star (2023 and ’24), earning a reserve spot in both years, but she deserves starter status this go-around. In her ninth WNBA season, Gray is putting up career numbers, averaging nearly 20 points per game on 46.7% shooting for the Dream. An impact player for Atlanta, Gray boasts the sixth-highest plus-minus (+6.7) of guards who have played over five games this season and has the second-highest plus/minus on her team. She’s the engine for the Dream’s offense, which has the second-highest rating in the league, behind only the reigning champions Liberty.

Frontcourt: Six players

EB: Aliyah Boston, Napheesa Collier, Nneka Ogwumike, Satou Sabally, Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson

In my eyes, Collier, Wilson, Stewart, Ogwumike and Sabally were all essentially auto-votes. But that last spot was difficult. I was split between Boston, Jonquel Jones and Alyssa Thomas. This may have been a different conversation had Jones gotten more time to make her case before she was injured. But as is, I felt that I had to give the slight edge to Boston, who’s having a career season. The most impressive factor to me here was her efficiency: Boston is the highest-scoring member of this trio while still being the most effective shooter. (She entered Thursday averaging 15.9 PPG while shooting 61% from the field.) She’s notably upgraded her footwork in the paint from last year. That’s helped Boston stand out as one of the most efficient shooters in the game: No one averaging in double figures is shooting above 60%.

CB: Napheesa Collier, Jonquel Jones, Nneka Ogwumike, Satou Sabally, Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson

I still think Jones deserves a starting nod, despite playing only nine games due to injury. (Jones reinjured her right ankle during the Liberty’s June 19 loss to the Mercury and will be out for four to six weeks.) Before being sidelined, Jones was arguably the best player on New York’s stacked roster. She has the second-highest NET rating of any player in the league averaging over five minutes per game (29.4), behind only her Liberty teammate Leonie Fiebich. A steadying force, Jones is as reliable a bucket as a player can be—and when she’s firing on all cylinders, it almost always guarantees a Liberty win.

One potential reserve you wish could have fit on your ballot

EB: Gabby Williams. The league leader in steals is a two-way menace. She offers a kind of versatility that few players can match, and she’s in the midst of her best performance yet, with career highs in points (14.0), assists (4.7) and steals (2.5). This is her first full season in the WNBA since 2022—she missed the first half of ’24 preparing for the Olympics with France and much of ’23 with an injury—and it’s given her a chance to firmly establish herself as one of the best defenders in the game both on-ball and off-ball.

CB: If only there were a way to fit Brittney Sykes into the starting guards group. The nine-year league veteran has made a compelling case for her All-Star debut. Sykes is putting up career numbers in almost every statistical category, leading a young Mystics team that has impressed in the face of low preseason expectations.